Joshua French

Who is Joshua French?

Joshua Olav Daniel Hodne French is a Norwegian-born security contractor and former soldier. He was arrested in May 2009 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo along with Tjostolv Moland, and convicted of espionage for Norway, the formation of a criminal association, attempted murder and armed robbery. In 2013 he was still imprisoned at Prison Militaire Ndolo. Joshua French has always claimed his innocence.

Moland and French both formerly served in the Norwegian Armed Forces and later worked in the private security industry. The men claimed that their driver was murdered by gunmen who waylaid them. On September 8, 2009, they were both found guilty and sentenced to death by a military tribunal in the regional capital, Kisangani. The DCR government insists that the defendants were active duty Norwegian soldiers, contradicting the Norwegian government's insistence that they had had no connection with Norway's military since 2007. French claimed that an autopsy was not performed on the murder victim.