A French court has handed a 10-month suspended jail sentence to an Afghan man found to have violated the terms of a special supervision order, days after France evacuated him from Taliban-controlled Kabul, reports Radio France Internationale.
The man, identified as Ahmat M., is one of five people who were placed under special police supervision after their arrival in France. The five are being investigated because of possible links with the Taliban.
Another man in the group of five is suspected of having worked directly for the Taliban.
The supervision order included strict limits on movements and Ahmat M., who arrived at the weekend, was convicted by a court late on Wednesday for straying outside of this zone.
Ahmat M., who says he was a prosecutor in Afghanistan before resuming his law studies, had been ordered not to leave the Paris suburb of Noisy-le-Grand, where he was housed with his wife, baby daughter and several other family members.
He told the court he wanted to buy medicine because he has suffered from headaches and vomiting since his arrival in France. In sometimes confused remarks, he said he followed a man living in the same hotel who offered to buy him these medicines, without realising that he was going to central Paris.
Ahmat M. insisted he was unaware of the restrictions he had to follow.