Chadian orphan children scandal facts for kids

The Chadian orphan children scandal is about six French citizens from the aid group L'Arche de Zoe. On October 26, 2007, they were about to fly 103 Sudanese children to France from Chad. Chadian authorities claimed that the children were not orphans from Darfur in Sudan, but children from Chad with parents still alive. For that reason, the six workers were arrested in an airport on October 26, 2007. On December 21, they stood trial for kidnapping of 103 children. Chad's interior minister, Ahmat Bachir, said that the French suspects could face up to 20 years of hard labour in a Chad prison if they are convicted. The six suspects started a hunger strike in protest against the Chad court and the charges brought against them. On December 26, 2007, the six French aid workers were sentenced to eight years with hard labour in prison by a court in Chad. The French prime minister promised to talk with the Chadian government to try to bring the six aid workers back to France. In that case, they would have to serve their eight-year prison sentence in France.