Two Norwegians sentenced to death in DRC

Two Norwegian men have been sentenced to death for a second time in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a retrial at a military court. Joshua French, who also has British nationality, and Tjostolv Moland were convicted of spying and murder.

Reuters

French (28) and Moland (29) were charged with killing the driver of a car they had rented in Kisangani in May 2009. They had originally been convicted in September last year but that case was thrown out because of "irregularities". The defendants, who can appeal Thursday's verdict, had claimed that their driver was killed by bandits.

The two men and the Norwegian state have also been ordered to pay 50 million euros in damages to the DRC. French press agency AFP reported that this sum was requested as it equalled “one dollar per Congolese, three million dollars for the widow, 1.5 million for the father of the deceased and 100,000 dollars for the Kisangani drivers' association."

The court in the original case said the accused were in possession of military ID cards when they were arrested and as serving soldiers were therefore the responsibility of the Norwegian state.

Following Thursday's verdict, the Norwegian government said it hopes to negotiate the men's return to to the country.

"We are ready to negotiate a deal regarding their transfer to Norway," foreign ministry spokesman Kjetil Elsebutangen told AFP.

Elsebutangen also outlined Norway's opposition to the death penalty and its rejection of the espionage charges.

"There is no reason to implicate the Norwegian state, either as employer or responsible authority from a civilian point of view," he said.

The DRC has yet to carry out a death sentence since President Joseph Kabila came to power in 2001.