Betancourt awarded French Legion of Honour

Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt received one of France's top honours today.

Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt received one of France's top honours today.

President Nicolas Sarkozy presented Ms Betancourt with the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in the gardens of the Elysée Palace, pinning the medal to her dress in a ceremony shown live on French television.

Ms Betancourt was rescued by the Colombian military earlier this month after more than six years in the jungle held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), who still detain hundreds of hostages.

"My heart bleeds because my companions of misfortune, other Colombians like myself still remain in the hands of the Farc," Ms Betancourt told the crowds gathered on the lawns of the Elysée on France's national holiday.

"They don't have any voice, they are alone and they are probably treated even worse than before after what happened 10 days ago. Their chains are probably shorter than before," she said.

Ms Betancourt, who has dual Franco-Colombian citizenship, has said she was regularly chained to trees during her imprisonment and denounced her treatment as inhuman.

She and 14 other hostages were freed after military agents tricked Farc fighters into handing the group over to them, pretending to be non-governmental workers acting as go-betweens for the Farc leadership.

Reuters