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| Joshua French |
Prime Minister David Cameron has today been urged to take action in the case of Joshua French, a British national facing execution in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Despite significant doubts over their innocence and the fairness of their trial, co-defendants Joshua French and Tjostolv Moland, a Norwegian national known to his friends as Mike, lost their final appeal against charges of murder and espionage on Thursday 10th June 2010. They now face execution by firing squad, sharing 11 death sentences between them.
President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo now has the power to reduce the men's sentences and remove the possibility of execution. It is therefore vital that representations on Joshua’s behalf are now made at the highest levels of government; in particular, a clemency plea must come from Prime Minister himself to carry any weight.
In a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron, Reprieve explains why it is now crucial that both he and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway get directly involved in the case, and supports the call of Joshua's mother Kari Hilde that this be done without further delay.
Joshua’s mother, Kari Hilde said: "The decision whether or not to take Joshua’s life is in the hands of President Kabila. It is now essential that both the Norwegian and the British Prime Minister become involved and ask, on behalf of their nations, that these young men be spared. I request of the British Prime Minister to ask His Excellency President Kabila for a full pardon for my son. My son and his friend face excecution or life imprisonment, which in reality means death, and they deserve the full and unwavering support of their governments."
French and Moland’s Norwegian lawyer Morten Furuholmen said: "Joshua and Mike are in real danger. It is time for our governments to ask their most senior officials to fight on behalf of these men. We have asked the Norwegian Prime Minister to get involved and it is essential that the British Prime Minister be part of these discussions. Together our Prime Ministers have a real chance of saving two lives. It is vital that they act now, before the wrong decision is made without them."
Harriet McCulloch, Reprieve investigator said: "There can be no greater duty, ultimately, for a politician than helping to save the life of a British citizen. The British and Norwegian Foreign Offices have been working hard, but Joshua and Mike are almost out of options. We can only expect Congo’s Head of State to treat this situation with the gravity it deserves if the Prime Minister shows his commitment."
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Tjostolv Moland, 28, and Joshua French, 27 -- both former soldiers -- were convicted on September 8 by a military court in the Congo city of Kisangani for killing their driver on May 5. The two, who were in Kisangani either as ...
