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| French convicted for Angola arms | French convicted for Angola arms |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The son of ex-French President Francois Mitterrand and an ex-government minister have been convicted for their roles in illegal arms sales to Angola. | The son of ex-French President Francois Mitterrand and an ex-government minister have been convicted for their roles in illegal arms sales to Angola. |
| Jean-Christophe Mitterrand was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay 375,000 euros (£340,000). | Jean-Christophe Mitterrand was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay 375,000 euros (£340,000). |
| Former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua was jailed for one year and fined 100,000 euros. | |
| They were convicted of accepting bribes to facilitate arms deals to Angola in 1993-98, in breach of French law. | They were convicted of accepting bribes to facilitate arms deals to Angola in 1993-98, in breach of French law. |
| The two key suspects - Israeli-Russian billionaire Arkady Gaydamak and French magnate Pierre Falcone - were convicted in their absence to six years in prison for having organised the arms trafficking worth $790m (£485m). | |
| Gaydamak and Falcone were accused of buying tanks, helicopters and artillery pieces and then selling them to Angola during its civil war, through a French-based firm and its subsidiary in Eastern Europe. | |
| In total 42 people were on trial. |