Former British soldier on death row in the Congo to go on trial for 'murder' of best friend

Tjostolv Moland and Joshua French

Joshua French is accused of killing pal Tjostolv Moland while they were both in prison for another murder

A British man waiting on death row in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will face trial tomorrow, accused of the murder of his cellmate and best friend.

Former soldier Joshua French and Tjostolv Moland were sentenced to death in 2009 after being found guilty of espionage and murder.

Both men maintained their innocence, but were convicted for a 2nd time of the same offences in June 2010 following a military retrial branded a "farce" by campaigners.

But Mr French, who served in the Parachute Regiment, now faces a fresh murder charge after Mr Moland was found dead in the prison cell they shared on August 18 last year, despite an initial inquiry which found he had taken his own life.

Legal charity Reprieve has now written to Prime Minister David Cameron, calling on the British Government to intervene to prevent the trial.

At very least, they say the case should be transferred to a civilian court as it is set to be held in a military court, in violation of the DRC's constitution and international law.

It is understood that discussions had been taking place to transfer Mr French to a prison in Norway, but the latest court proceedings have thrown this in to jeopardy.

Mr French's mother, Kari Hilde, said: "Joshua has already lost his best friend and nearly 5 years of his life. Now he's being falsely accused of murder. How much more will he have to endure before the British Government takes serious action?"

Reprieve said a post-mortem examination conducted jointly by Congolese Police and the Norwegian police agency Kripos confirmed that Mr Moland had committed suicide.

Mr Moland's father has written to the Congolese authorities asking for the charges against Mr French to be dropped but the request has not been answered.

Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "The Government has already tarried too long.

"These are sham charges and the Prime Minister needs to intervene without delay to protect the rights of British citizen, Joshua French. If the trial goes ahead in a military court, Joshua may well be given a death sentence, and all hopes of him leaving the prison alive will be dashed."

Mr French and Mr Moland were convicted of murdering Abedi Kasongo, who had been hired to drive the 2 former soldiers after their motorbike broke down in April 2009. The 47-year-old driver was shot in the head 70 miles (113km) east of Kisangani.

French and Moland denied responsibility. They claimed that unknown gunmen ambushed them in the middle of a dense rainforest.

The trial saw witnesses provide conflicting testimonies and lacked physical evidence, Reprieve said.

It is also claimed that Mr French was beaten and subjected to a mock execution before being forced to sign a confession.

The prosecution told the courts that Mr Moland wrote a letter confessing he was a spy and was responsible for killing Mr Kasongo.

But the letter has never been given to his defence team.

At the retrial, both men were forced to stand for more than 6 hours in heat upwards of 40C (104F), it was claimed.

Mr French, who spent his childhood in Margate, Kent, trained as a British paratrooper before serving in the Norwegian army, where he met Mr Moland.

Both men left the forces in 2007 and worked as security guards in a number of locations.

Source: Daily Mail, January 6, 2014