Spies appeal DRC death penalty
2009-10-13 22:38
Kinshasa - Two Norwegians sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last month have begun an appeal against the sentence, judicial sources said on Tuesday.
Tjostolv Moland, 28 and 27-year-old Joshua French - both former soldiers - were found guilty on September 8 by a military court for espionage and murdering their driver on May 5.
The appeal was being heard by a military court in the north-eastern city of Kisangani and attended by a representative of the British embassy as French, who has dual nationality, had "requested consular assistance", an official said.
The two, who were in Kisangani either as tourists or on business depending on varying reports, have said their driver was killed by bandits. They have maintained their innocence.
The sentence sparked a diplomatic furore when it was passed last month and Norway's foreign ministry said it had received assurances from Kinshasa that the men would not be executed.
"The Congolese government has adopted a moratorium on the death penalty and capital punishment is no longer applied in the country," it said.
Kinshasa had also undertaken to investigate the possibility that part of the men's sentence, if upheld, could be served in Norway, it said.
Oslo was itself ordered to pay $60m in reparations on the spying charge, which it rejected, saying the men had no ties to the Norwegian government.