Congo mission punishable in Norway

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Congo mission may be punishable in Norway

The «hot» missions that Joshua French has confirmed that he and Tjostolv Moland were involved in as mercenaries in Congo may be in violation of Norwegian law, writes the Norwegian newspaper, VG.

 

The Norwegian Violent Crimes Unit (Kripos) will consider a review of the assignments related to the security company SIG Uganda, which Tjostolv Moland and Joshua French were active in before entering Congo on the fateful trip in May 2009.

VG is informed by several sources confirmed that Joshua French knows that the company’s mission was «hotter» than hitherto known. French and Moland were not on a «boy scout» mission; They allegedly were professional mercenaries on a «hot» military mission in Congo and had previously participated in similar operation(s) in the country.

Norwegian law

«If VG’s information is correct, actions referred to in the circumstances may be covered by the Norwegian Criminal Code», Kripos writes to VG after the trial and prosecution unit has reviewed the information.

They add that it is too early to say whether this will be investigated further and that a composite assessment must be performed in this case.

Joshua French does not want to comment on the matter and refers to his lawyer, Hans Marius Graasvold, who has received the statements from Kripos and the crime experts by email.

«French denies that he has performed acts that are punishable by law, whether abroad or in Norway. Beyond that, he has no comments on the matter,» Graasvold writes to VG.

The case

Joshua French (36), in co-operation with Tjostolv Moland, set up a so-called security company in Uganda. French and Moland were in Congo when their driver Abedi Kasongo was killed on May 5th, 2009. Both were arrested, charged with the murder on the driver. The following year, both were sentenced to death. Moland was found dead in his prison cell in Kinshasa, in 2013. On May 17th last year, French was transferred to Norway, after intense diplomatic efforts by Norway. It has never been revealed how much money (if any) that was involved to achieve this. According to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Børge Brende (Conservatives), French was transferred to Norway on humanitarian grounds. He was promptly released from prison on his return.

The case is in the spotlight due to the movie, «Murder in Congo».

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today