Workers sentenced over 'kidnap' bid

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

The defendants, who work for the French aid group Zoe's Ark, maintain they were driven by compassion to help orphans in Darfur, which borders Chad.

An uprising that flared in Darfur in 2003 has led to the deaths of more than 200,000 people and forced 2.5 million to flee.

They were charged with fraud and kidnapping in October after authorities stopped a convoy including the children the charity planned to fly to France.

Investigations revealed most of the 103 children were Chadians who had at least one parent or close adult relative with whom they lived.

The wife of Zoe's Ark logistics chief Alain Peligat expressed a "feeling of injustice, of course, because this case involves doctors, rescue workers, professors - not mercenaries - and they were simply going to save lives."

"The rumours were that it was going to be 10 years," Christine Peligat said by phone from the Champagne region east of Paris.

"I'm not happy with a conviction of course, but it didn't exceed 10 years."

"In any case, this case doesn't hold up," she added.

The French foreign ministry in Paris declined to comment on a judicial verdict by another nation, but said it would ask Chadian authorities to transfer the six convicted to France. The countries have a bilateral judicial agreement that could allow for the six to be transferred home.