Six French charity workers detained in Chad over efforts to fly 103 children to France began a hunger strike on Saturday to protest what they call a "biased" probe into the incident, a judicial source said.
"They have begun their hunger strike, but are continuing to drink water and smoke," the source said. "They are saying that they are determined to continue their strike until they are freed because they say they have committed no crime."
The six French nationals are incarcerated in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena on charges of kidnapping and fraud. Five Chadian officials and a Sudanese refugee are also detained for complicity.
The investigating judge concluded his probe into the incident on Tuesday and received the prosecutor's recommendations on Thursday. He is expected to issue an edict next week on whether the case will be tried and, if so, whether it will be heard in a court dealing with crimes or misdemeanors.
But the five charity workers claim the judge is biased. One of them, Philippe van Winkelberg, wrote a letter to that effect, claiming "proof" of the defendants' innocence was not taken into account.
In France, Gilbert Collard, lawyer for the detained members of the Zoe's Ark charity, said the six felt forsaken by the French government.
"The decision to launch a hunger strike is the result of a situation of diplomatic and political abandonment in which our compatriots are left," he said on Saturday, adding he personally believed French President Nicolas Sarkozy would ultimately intervene on their behalf.
Sarkozy flew to Chad last month to bring home other Europeans involved in the botched flight.
In October, Chadian authorities halted a controversial operation in the eastern city of Abeche, as charity members tried to board more than 100 African children on a France-bound plane.
Zoe's Ark has said that it thought the children were orphans from Darfur, the neighboring Sudanese region in the throes of civil war.
But humanitarian organizations claim almost all the children are from Chadian villages in the border area and have at least one parent or adult guardian.
Also charged initially were three French journalists, seven Spanish air crew members and a Belgian pilot. They have been released.
Those charged could incur sentences of between five to 20 years of forced labor in Chad.
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