The murder trial for two Norwegian security guards begins Friday in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Tjostolv Moland, age 28 and Joshua French, 27 are charged with the shooting death of their hired driver Adebi Kasongo which occurred on the 5^th of May.   Additional charges against the two include espionage and various weapons violations.

Authorities believe the two men shot and killed their driver on an isolated section of road between Kisangani and the Ugandan border but thus far the prosecution has not disclosed their theory as to the motive for the crime.  For their part the Norwegians insist they are innocent of any wrongdoing but thus far have not indicated who they believe fired the fatal shots.

Tjostolv Moland and Joshua French are charged with the shooting death of their hired driver. Photo courtesy of Thomas Hubert/Aftenposten.

Evidence seized recently at the apartment the two men shared in Uganda could play a large role n the eventual outcome of the trial.  During the police raid authorities found Norwegian military ID cards, counterfeit United Nations hats, employee ID badges with both the correct and false names of the two men.  The employee badges are from a heretofore little known security company named Special Interventions Group (SIG) which is owned by and mostly staffed by Norwegians.  During the raid on the apartment authorities also confiscated at least one rifle and a camera containing pictures of the two men on their recent travels in Africa.  In one grainy image, believed to have been taken by Mr. French, Mr. Moland is seen smiling as he washes the blood believed to be that of Mr. Kasongo from the inside of the hired car.

Vague Details

Only recently have Moland and French begun discussing their case publicly.  Previously French was inexplicably coy about his true identity and had been operating under the name “John Hunt”.  Their use of false names likely lead the prosecution to become extra suspicious especially in light of the fact that the two resided in Uganda, with whom the Congo has a long, contentious and bloody past.

As portions of their story emerged it became evident that key details remained undisclosed.  Not least of which were what exactly were the two men doing in the restive eastern region of the Congo?

Playing Soldier

Moland and French served briefly in the Norwegian Army’s Telemark Battalion, which in the Norwegian order of battle, is purportedly an elite infantry unit.  It is unknown if either deployed operationally during their military service.

The two men had been apparently on somewhat of an African adventure in the months leading up to their arrest.  Photos found both on their own camera as well as those sent home to family and friends show the two men posing for tourist-like snap shots at various locations in central Africa.

Moland has previously stated during interviews with Norwegian reporters that the company he founded and insists is legitimate, Special Interventions Group – Uganda and he contends that it “has nothing to do with” other companies with the name Special Interventions Group.  This appears to conflict with the  recently obtained  SIG-Uganda employee ID badges which bear the identical SIG logo and the name false name of Mike Callan and John Hunt each accompanying Moland and French’s respective photographs.  Furthermore,  the name ‘Mike Callan’, apparently used by Moland,  is listed as recently as 2008 on SIG brochures as the Chief Executive Officer of SIG-Uganda.

Representatives from SIG have thus far not commented publicly on the pending trial of Moland and French.  However, in previous public interviews members of their staff, including one identifying himself as “John Hunt” had claimed that SIG has executed offensive combat operations in Africa, including in the DRC.

Details regarding the specific business activities undertaken by SIG-Uganda are difficult to ascertain but it is not believed that the venture had proven particularly lucrative for Moland, who asserted himself in recent interviews as the primary owner.  In addition to offering security services both Moland and French we also said to be “attempting to organize corporate adventure tours” in partnership with a large international travel company but thus far Moland or French have refused to disclose the name of the company.

Low Tech, High Stakes

The physical conditions that the accused find them selves in now are deplorable, despite the fact that they apparently occupy the best cell in the filthy and antiquated Kisangani jail.  Their ragged physical appearance and Spartan treatment thus far gives a clear indication of the sophistication of the trial that likely awaits them.  Interestingly, both men have been confined together which in almost all circumstances would not have been the norm.  Their time together will have certainly given them time to corroborate details of their defense and this could make it difficult for the prosecution if they are unable to present a compelling enough case.

It is not expected that much if any forensic or physical evidence of value will be presented at the trial.  Instead the prosecution seems to place the majority of its case in witness testimony and circumstantial evidence.

So, as early as Friday perhaps additional details will emerge regarding the events that lead to the death of Adebi Kasongo.  If convicted on the murder charge the two men could receive a life sentence to be served in a Congo prison.

By Scott Casey of The Brisbane Times

The opportunity to earn up to triple his normal salary proved as irresistible to Darren Hoare as it has to thousands of other former soldiers.

Over the past few years, these ex-servicemen regularly farewelled family and friends to fight in the private armies securing the deadly streets of Iraq.

Mr Hoare, a former RAAF airman and father of three from Willowbank, west of Brisbane, was killed on Sunday, one of two contractors allegedly shot during an argument with a fellow mercenary.

The deaths have once again cast a shadow on the fast-growing private security industry.

British newspaper The Times estimates there are 132,610 contractors working in Iraq for 32 security companies from the US and UK.

The contractors tend to be men with military backgrounds, who have traded in their uniforms to become guns for hire.

They are paid upwards of $1000 a day by private companies, governments or aid groups to act as bodyguards for VIPs or dignitaries and guard facilities.

Mr Hoare, who had served in Iraq with the RAAF as a ground defence expert, worked for British firm ArmorGroup, a division of G4S Risk Management, which advertises protective security in “complex or sensitive environments”.

According to its website, ArmorGroup also offers training in crisis management for dealing with abduction, kidnap for ransom and extortion and reconstruction work.

Such dangers make for an explosive work environment.

“The reality of the security contracting population in Iraq is that everyone carries a gun … an argument which may in our society end up with someone punching someone, may go in the direction of someone pulling a gun,” Major General (Retd) AO DSC Jim Molan, chief of operations in Iraq during 2004 and 2005, told brisbanetimes.com.au yesterday.

The mercenary industry arose out of the military cutbacks that followed the end of the Cold War.

Governments around the world, financially and morally weary of maintaining large armies, disbanded significant sections of their forces and replaced them with private workers.

“There was an expectation with the Soviet threat gone people would begin to save money,” Dr Mark Thompson, a defence analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said.

“When the US in particular began to downsize it made a business decision and that was they would downsize their support elements. .. retain the numbers of uniformed personnel as combat troops and contract out through a big one off contract for all that logistics support.

“That set the scene for Iraq and then on top of that all these people needed to be protected so a secondary sector emerged that was providing security for the people who were doing the contracted logistics.”

Mr Thompson said the Australian Government had hired private security contractors to provide protection for AusAID workers in Iraq.

The United Nations has regularly expressed concern over the regulation of private security companies and earlier this year sent a working group to Afghanistan to investigate.

Currently in the US, six contractors for Blackwater Worldwide are facing charges relating to the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians.

Just last week, former Blackwater employees testified in court that the founder of the company, Erik Prince, had murdered a staff member who worked with officials investigating the shooting.

Mr Thompson said the quality of firms and their reputations varied considerably.

By Deborah Haynes

The arrest of a British private security contractor in Baghdad provides a long-awaited opportunity for Iraq to make an example of someone from an industry that is loathed by most people in the country.

It is also a huge embarrassment for Britain at a time when Gordon Brown is still waiting for the Iraqi parliament to ratify a new security agreement between the two countries — something that should have happened by the end of May but is unlikely to take place until autumn at the earliest.

The arrest comes at a time when the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is trying to secure the release of three remaining British hostages in Iraq, two of whom are thought to be dead.

The Iraqi authorities will be keen to demonstrate their newly restored sovereignty by trying the suspect in an Iraqi court, which has the power to order the death penalty. At the same time, Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, will be mindful of Iraq’s ties with Britain, which played a key role in the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Foreign contractors who break Iraqi law are liable to prosecution under the Iraqi penal code — a danger they were effectively immune from until the start of the year, when previous privileges enjoyed since March 2003 expired.

Most Iraqis are fed up with the privileged status enjoyed by foreign contractors in their country, and will want evidence that such behaviour has been stopped. Private security guards who travel to Iraq for work are largely viewed as opportunists profiteering from the war with little regard for the local population — a harsh stereotype that was all too often justified, though the situation is improving.

Blackwater Worldwide, a US private security company, badly damaged the industry’s reputation, particularly after a gun battle almost two years ago in Baghdad in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed.

The Iraqi authorities were prevented from prosecuting the suspects because Blackwater, which changed its name to Xe at the start of the year, was working for the US State Department and protected from Iraqi law. This is not the case for Danny Fitzsimons, the ArmorGroup suspect.

No Briton has been arrested by the Iraqi authorities since the invasion, so it is unclear what, if anything, diplomats can do to help him. Furthermore, Britain lacks much of the diplomatic clout held by, for example, the United States, so may struggle to gain custody of the suspect even if it wants to do so.

Much rests on Mr al-Maliki and whether he will want to take a tough stance or show leniency. Given that the Prime Minister faces a battle for re-election in the next six months it is more likely that he will take a strong line. Trying a foreign security contractor in an Iraqi court will be a sure vote-winner.

That said, it remains hard to imagine a British man going on trial in Iraq, which has a poor track record for human rights in prison and a shaky judicial system.

One thing is certain: the arrest in the fortified Green Zone of Baghdad — once the hub of the US-led coalition — sends a clear message to the tens of thousands of foreign contractors working in Iraq that the carefree days are over; no one is immune to Iraqi law.

* There are 32 security companies operating in Iraq, of which 10 are based in the UK and 11 in the US

* There are 132,610 “contractors”, 36,000 of whom are Iraqis

* The biggest US-based companies pay around $500-$600 (£300-£350) a day

* As of May 2009, 520 foreign contractors had been killed in Iraq, 50 of whom were British Private contractors have the right to use deadly force to defend themselves. In September 2007, employees of the US firm Blackwater fired on a group of Iraqis, killing 17

* Last week, two former employees told a court that Blackwater’s founder, Erik Prince, had murdered a staff member who co-operated with investigators

* The UK company ArmorGroup was chaired by the former Conservative Foreign Secretary, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, until it was bought last year by G4S

Sources: US embassy in Iraq, Pentagon, Washington Post, Times Database