CHAD: Day three of Zoe's Ark trial ends, accused nurse taken to French military hospital

Record ID: 1530967

  • Title: CHAD: Day three of Zoe's Ark trial ends, accused nurse taken to French military hospital
  • Date: 25th December 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (French) PHILIPPE HOUSSINE, PROSECUTION LAWYER, SAYING: He's (Breateau) hiding behind a convention which he doesn't understand, and the proof today, if you have followed the testimonies, have revealed that it's only tears. Eric Breteau doesn't have anything, he was exposed and stared at."
  • Embargoed: 9th January 2008 09:22
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Chad
  • Country: Chad
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA3DREM49IJZVN1G74MLSWDB6IL
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Six French aid workers accused of trying to kidnap 103 children return to jail after the third day of their trial ends. One of the accused falls ill during trial.
    Five French nationals who worked for a French aid group accused of trying to kidnap the children in Chad returned to prison on Monday (December 24) evening after at the closure of day three of the trial, after French army medical staff carried a French nurse out of the courtroom after she was taken ill while on hunger strike.
    The six, members of French humanitarian group, Zoe's Ark, are on trial on charges of child kidnapping and fraud after being arrested while trying to fly 103 African children to France to live with European families. Several Chadians are also on trial.
    Zoe's Ark deny the charges.
    Eric Breteau, the head of Zoe's Ark operation in Chad has said in his defence that he had acted in accordance with the Geneva convention. But state lawyer Philippe Houssine says Breteau is misinterpreting the convention. "He's hiding behind a convention which he doesn't understand, and the proof today, if you have followed the testimonies, have revealed that it's only tears. Eric Breteau doesn't have anything, he was exposed and stared at," Houssine said.
    The six insist they are innocent, but if convicted face possible forced labour sentences of five to 20 years.
    Local lawyers and many Chadians expect them to be sent back to France after the verdict, under bilateral judicial accords, or a pardon granted by Chadian President Idriss Deby.
    The defence team said the court was rushing the case.
    Mahamat Hassan Ahamat took the witness stand on Monday on behalf of the parents of around a dozen children taken from around the border town of Tine, including his own two sons.
    He said there was no school in his village and when he heard white people were offering to educate children he willingly sent his boys off with Mahamat Eritero, one of the Chadians who worked with Zoe's Ark, without ever meeting the Europeans.
    Investigations have found most of the children were from Chadian villages on the border, and many had parents.
    A lawyer for the relatives said last week they were seeking 100 million euros ($144 million) in civil damages from the accused -- a sum defence lawyers say smacks of profiteering.

    "The total amount for damages that they are asking for is colossal, so it's like a gold mine the civil parties are trying to exploit," defence lawyer Gilbert Collard said.
    The case, which resumes Wednesday (December 26), is an embarrassment for France, which supports Deby's rule and is providing the backbone of a peacekeeping force due to deploy next year to protect refugee camps and aid workers in the country's violent east.
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