Chadian orphan children scandal
| This article is orphaned. Few or no other articles link to it. (April 2008) |
The Chadian orphan children scandal is about the six French citizens from the aid group L'Arche de Zoe who on October 26 were about to fly 103 Sudanese children to France from Chad. Chadian authorities claimed that the children were not orphans from Darfur in Sudan, but children from Chad with parents still alive. For that reason, the six workers where arrested in an airport on October 26 2007. On December 21, they stood trial for child kidnapping of 103 children. Chad's interior minister, Ahmat Bachir said that the French suspects could face up to 20 years of hard labour in a Chad prison if they are convicted. The six suspects have started a hunger strike in protest at the Chad court and the charges brought against them. On December 26,2007 the six French aid workers where sentenced to eight years at hard labour in prison by a court in Chad. The French prime minister has promised to talk with the Chadian government in a attempt to bring the six aid workers back to France. In that case they would have to serve their eight year prison sentence in France.