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Chad pardons French aid workers | Chad pardons French aid workers |
(about 6 hours later) | |
One of the six French aid workers jailed last December for kidnapping 103 African children has been released from prison hours after Chad pardoned them. | |
The six, who worked for Paris-based charity, Zoe's Ark, had initially been sentenced to eight years in prison in Chad, but were later moved to France. | |
They had claimed they were rescuing orphans from Sudan's Darfur region to take them to foster homes in Europe. | |
But it emerged most of the children were from Chad and were not orphans. | |
Two of the aid workers may still face criminal charges in France, and several law suits have been lodged against the charity by disappointed foster families. | |
Chad's government has also said it wants the children's families to receive compensation either from the aid workers or France. | |
Better relations | |
Television cameras captured a smiling Dominique Aubry as he left the prison in the Normandy town of Caen on Monday evening. | |
The 30-year-old volunteer fireman had been employed as a logistics chief by Zoe's Ark when he and his colleagues were detained on 25 October by Chadian security forces at the airport in the eastern town of Abeche. | |
They were later sentenced to eight years' hard labour in Chad, but had been serving their sentence in prisons across France since late December under a judicial co-operation accord. | |
Mr Aubry was released only hours after being pardoned in a decree issued by Chad's President, Idriss Deby. | |
The BBC's Emma Jane Kirby in Paris says the pardon comes at a time of strengthening relations between Chad and France, which helped Mr Deby beat back a rebel assault to overthrow him in February. |
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