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Norwegians in Congo

Joshua Olav Daniel Hodne French, sometimes called John Hunt (born April 7, 1982) and Tjostolv Moland, sometimes called Mike Callan (born 1981) are two Norwegian former soldiers who later worked in the security industry. French grew up in the municipality of Re in Vestfold county and has both Norwegian and British citizenship. Moland is from Vegårshei in Aust-Agder county. In May 2009, French and his partner and friend Moland were arrested in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, accused of murder and espionage for Norway.
On September 8, 2009, they were both found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death by a military tribunal in the regional capital, Kisangani.

In addition to the death sentence for both, the tribunal ordered the Norwegian government to pay (US) $1 compensation to each Congolese citizen; the Democratic Republic of the Congo has an estimated population of 66,020,000.
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Until 2006, French served in the Norwegian Armed Forces and was also employed in the British Army where he trained as a paratrooper. In 2006, he successfully applied to the Telemark Battalion, the elite infantry unit, but was forced to resign in 2007 as he and his friend Moland were accused of having recruited military personnel to private security companies.

Moland also has a Norwegian Army background, having served in The King's Guard and later Telemark Battalion, where he held the rank of second lieutenant before his resignation in 2007. French and Moland later worked as security guards in several places, including pirate guards for a Korean company in the Gulf of Aden. French and Moland were also involved in security missions in various African countries, such as Angola, Sierra Leone, and lately in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Arrest and courtroom charges

French and Moland were reportedly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to set up their own security company. In May 2009, they were arrested in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve and charged in the killing of their hired driver, 47-year old Abedi Kasongo, which occurred on May 5, 2009. French was arrested on May 9 in the Epulu game reserve, around 200 kilometres from Kisangani. Moland was arrested two days later in the Ituri Province, a few hundred kilometres further northeast. Under Congolese law, the men were tried in a military court because firearms had been used in the crime.[8] The military tribunal convened in Kisangani on August 14. Congolese authorities believe French and Moland shot and killed Abedi Kasongo on an isolated section of road between Kisangani and the Ugandan border.

Prosecution evidence
During the criminal investigation, the Congolese authorities found Norwegian military ID cards, counterfeit United Nations caps, and employee ID badges with both the correct and false names of French and Moland. The employee badges were from a little-known security company named Special Interventions Group (SIG) which is owned by and mostly staffed by Norwegians. The investigators also found SIG-Uganda employee ID badges which bore the identical SIG logo and the false names of "John Hunt" and "Mike Callan" accompanying both French and Moland's respective photographs.[9] During a raid on French and Moland's apartment, authorities also confiscated at least one rifle and a camera containing images of French and Moland on their recent travels in Africa. In one image, believed to have been taken by French, Moland is seen smiling as he washes what is believed to be the blood of Abedi Kasongo from the inside of their hired car. French and Moland have said that Abedi Kasongo was shot and killed when their car was attacked by gunmen on the road.

Gina Kepo Aila and Kasimu Aradjabo said they were both present during the killing. Both witnesses told the court that Moland shot, while French threw himself over Gina Kepo Aila. According to the witnesses, several shots were fired, most probably three.

Verdict
On September 8, 2009, French and Moland were found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. Along with the death sentence for both, the tribunal ordered the Norwegian government to pay a $1 (USD) compensation to each Congolese citizen, an amount Judge Claude Disimo said totals more than $60 million. Norwegian authorities have denied that the men were involved in espionage for Norway, and have expressed concern they were not receiving a fair trial. The case has been widely covered in the Norwegian media, which has described much of the evidence presented against French and Moland as "contradicting and seemingly absurd".

Reaction
Norway immediately condemned the sentence and rejected the allegations of spying. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the sentence was "completely unacceptable" and that he would protest to his Congolese counterpart. French and Moland's defence lawyer, Guillaume Likwela, said the verdict was flawed because the men were not given an interpreter for the trial, carried out in French, which neither speaks.