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Congo’s president will pardon Joshua French

Kinshasa,Congo .Joshua French.Photo : Marte Christensen / NTB scanpix

Congo’s president has agreed to pardon Joshua French during 2017, says Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba to NRK.

– Joshua French is going to be set free, says Mwamba to NRK news.

According to the Justice Minister he can be released anywhere from a week to months – and guarantees that it will happen during 2017.

He says there are still some procedures that must be in place before Joseph Kabila can sign a pardon. According to NRK, French is being pardoned for the sake of his mother and there is no mention of a transfer of his sentence to Norway.

French, who has soon served eight years in the Congolese prison, was sentenced to death and imprisonment for life in Congo. French and Tjostolv Moland were arrested in Congo in May 2009, after their driver Abedi Kasongo, was found murdered.

In August 2013, Moland was found dead in the cell the two shared at the military prison Ndolo in the capital Kinshasa.

Local authorities first stated that he had taken his own life, but changed their minds and accused French for killing his friend. In 2014, French was sentenced to life for the murder of Moland.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today