I hope I am wrong, but from the video, it appears to be clear that they've been told of the punishment for this crime in Chad... The charity insists it was trying in good faith to take endangered children abroad for medical treatment. I recognize several of the French and Spanish humanitarians (below) in 'repeat Darfur missions'; and they appear to be (somehow) consigned with this firm.
Now, a mission of dreadful misunderstanding...
Europeans face mob anger over child 'abductions' in Chad
The charity behind the flight protested its innocence, saying it believed the children were orphans whose lives were at risk from civil war in Sudan's Darfur province... However, staff from the UN children's agency Unicef say many of the children, now being kept in an orphanage in Abeche, cry at night for their parents and say they are from villages in Chad.
It now looks likely the prisoners currently being held in Abeche will be transferred to jail, though whether they will be moved to the capital N'Djamena is unclear, reports the BBC's Stephanie Hancock.
Another European - a Belgian pilot - is in detention in N'Djamena, but is not reported to be facing charges at present.
The article says, "Our correspondent says it could be some time before those charged appear in court to enter a plea." Another by Jack Lang, a former Socialist minister: "I know some of these people who are working in Darfur, and they are very generous people, and probably they have made several mistakes - it's not easy to understand.""And the French government in the first time was not against this operation, it was a humanitarian operation.
Perhaps, Chad was trying to exploit the situation for political purposes."
Spain's foreign ministry said it "disagreed" with the charges against its citizens. "Everything seems to indicate there is no conclusive evidence against the Spaniards," Bernardino Leon, a senior ministry official, told Spanish radio.Compte tenu de cette situation unique qui aurait pu être vous ou je aider les enfants menacés de guerre au Darfour! :|
"Until this evidence is presented, the government will continue to maintain that they are innocent and continue to demand their release."
Sarlozy said, "We are going to try to find an arrangement to ensure that in this case no one loses face, and find out the exact truth about why they went to pick up these children and what for."
NOTE: The nine French detainees stand to face charges of attempted child abduction and fraud, the prosecutor's office said. The seven Spaniards will be charged with being accomplices to the crime, as will the two unidentified Chadian nationals.
