Earlier this week marked British-Norwegian Joshua French’s 2,500th day imprisoned in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sentenced to death no less than three times in a farcical military trial for “criminal conspiracy” and for spying on behalf of Norway. The prison conditions this Kent man has had to endure, and survive, are horrendous. It’s high time that Britain put its weight and considerable influence behind the goal that the Norwegian government has tried, but failed, to achieve during the last seven years: to free Joshua French. Norway likes to see itself as a humanitarian superpower, but that can only take you so far, especially in a country where Norway is not even represented with an embassy. Hopefully we’ll see some real results when Britain steps up and takes the lead on this.
Mikael Simble
Geneva, Switzerland
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
