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French court frees police chief

    NAIROBI

    Republic of Congo's police chief, Jean-Francois Ndengue, returned to Brazzaville on Sunday, two days after his release from French custody, news organisations reported.

    From Brazzaville, AFP quoted Congolese Communications Minister Alain Akouala as confirming Ndengue's return. He had been remanded in custody in Sante Prison, Paris, after his arrest on Thursday in the town of Meaux. He was held in connection with the 1999 disappearance of some 353 Congolese refugees in the Port of Brazzaville as they returned home from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, news organisations reported.

    A French court ordered Ndengue freed after his lawyer, Jean-Marc Florand, argued that he was in France on an official capacity, was carrying a diplomatic passport, and thus had diplomatic immunity, United Press International reported on Saturday.

    However, the Federation of Congolese in the Diaspora (the Federation des congolais de la diaspora Renouveau conference nationale) said in a communiqué issued on Sunday that Ngendgue had a home and family in France and was there "on a private visit". The federation also said that he had been to Paris on numerous other occasions for medical treatment following an earlier car accident.

    Ngendgue, a police colonel, had been among two other ranking Congolese leaders, among them President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who were sued by three survivors in a French court for crimes against humanity.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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