Sudan Renews it Rejection to Release of French Convicts in Sudanese Children Abduction Case and Announces Death of a Child

Sudan has declared its decision not to abandon the rights of the Sudanese children who were abducted by the French Zoe's Ark and its determination to pursue the culprits in this case through Interpol, and announced in the same time the death of one of the abducted children in their camp. In a press statement Wednesday, the Minister of Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs, Ustaza Samiya Ahmed Mohamed, described the Chadian government's pardoning to the convicts and their release by France as a conspiracy and a transaction which was perpetrated by Chad and France through a fake trial.

She said that the pardon and release of the children abductors would lead to dismissal of all the verdicts issues against them, including the financial compensations estimated at 1.2 billion French francs, around 75000 to 80000 dollars for each child. The minister criticized the delay in the release six children by the Chadian government even after coordination was done with the Red Cross to transport the abducted children to West Darfur State in the past week, indicating that the other abducted children were returned to their parents at the Sudanese Adari and Al-Tina areas.

The minister announced that one of the Sudanese abducted children died inside the camp set for them. She called on the United Nations, UNICEF and the Red Cross to put into action the UN conventions relating to protection of children toward release of the children by Chad government which is detaining them as hostages so as to serve its political work against Sudan. The minister called on the Chadian Social Affairs Minister to return the abducted children to their parents after dissolution of their camp in Chad. She stressed that the Sudanese families will not relinquish their own right concerning the abduction and trade with their children, referring to the psychological harm which was inflicted on these children.