Tjostolv Moland
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Tjostolv Moland | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 February 1981 |
| Died | 18 August 2013 (aged 32) |
| Convictions | Murder, espionage |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | One |
| Country | DR Congo |
Date apprehended | May 2009 |
Tjostolv Moland (28 February 1981 – 18 August 2013) was a former Norwegian army officer and private security contractor or ex-mercenary[1] arrested in May 2009 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and convicted (together with Joshua French) of murdering their driver and espionage for Norway.
One day after he died, The Guardian said that his "death overshadowed even the upcoming elections in Norway's media."[2] Furthermore, Reuters claimed that the death sentence was later overturned by the Congo's military high court,[3] without mentioning that the prisoners were sentenced to death at the next trial.
Moland was born and raised in Vegårshei, Aust-Agder county, Norway. He joined the army when he was nineteen, served in The King's Guard and later the Telemark Battalion, where he held the rank of second lieutenant before his resignation in 2007.[4] During his tenure as an army officer, he befriended grenadier Joshua French, a fellow soldier in the Telemark Battalion. After leaving the military, they both worked in the private security industry for a Korean company as security guards in the Gulf of Aden.[5]
2009 Congo trial
In 2009, a manhunt ensued after Moland and French were suspected in the shooting of their driver, who was found dead in the car in which the three had been riding. The men claimed that their driver was murdered by gunmen who waylaid them, and that they escaped from them on foot. On 8 September 2009, a DRC military tribunal in Kisangani (the capital of Orientale Province) found them both guilty of all charges and sentenced them to death.[6][7][8][9][10] The Democratic Republic of the Congo government insists that the defendants were active-duty Norwegian soldiers, contradicting Norway's insistence that they had no connection with its military since 2007. "The rulings drew immediate international protests amid claims of miscarriages of justice."[11]
Appeal and new trial
On 22 April 2010, the BBC reported that a court overturned the convictions of French and Moland because of flawed procedures at their military tribunal and ordered a new trial with different judges.[11]
On 10 June 2010, the BBC reported that the new tribunal in Kisangani found them guilty of murder and espionage. They were again sentenced to death and the Norwegian State was ordered to pay $65m.[12]
Imprisonment
During their first trial, the men were incarcerated in Kisangani, where they also remained for the first year of their sentence.[clarification needed] In 2010, they were transferred to Kinshasa. (Tvedestrandsposten has reported the name of the prison as Prison Militaire Ndolo.[13]) In 2011, their prison cell was searched by officials including major Jean-Blaise Bwamulunda, one of the prosecutors in the trial.[14] US$2,000 in cash was found and confiscated.[14]
Diplomats meeting in Democratic Republic of Congo
In 2013, on his visit to the DRC, French president François Hollande suggested that prisoners French and Moland should be moved out of the situation of their six-man prison cell; five days later the two prisoners shared a cell of their own.[15] (Britain's foreign ministry had contacted France's in advance, due to Joshua French being a British citizen in addition to being a Norwegian citizen.[15])
