PARIS, June 20, 2006 (AFP) - Aging French mercenary Denard was handed a five-year suspended jail term by a Paris court Tuesday after being convicted of organising a failed 1995 putsch in the Comoros islands.

Now 77 and suffering from Alzheimer's disease, the notorious former dog-of-war had denied charges of criminal association in relation to the coup attempt on the Indian Ocean islands against president Said Mohammed Djohar, which fizzled out when French troops intervened after a week.

A total of 26 others were also found guilty, including Denard's long-standing lieutenants Jean-Paul Guerrier, 55, also known as Captain Slam, and Dominique Malcrino, 54, or Commandant Marques.

Four were exempted from any sentence, and the rest given suspended jail terms of up to four years.

Lawyer Said Larifou, representing Djohar's family, said the Comoran people would "feel insulted" by the lack of custodial sentence. "This is an encouragement — even a bonus — for mercenaries," he said.

A bit-player in a series of wars across post-colonial Africa, Denard — whose real name is Gilbert Bourgeaud — attended only the first day of the three-week trial in February after the court ruled that his "neurological difficulties" rendered him unfit.

However in testimony read to the court, he said that "he never for one moment believed he was acting against the interests of my country — quite the contrary."

Other defendants said they thought they had the tacit approval of the French intelligence services when they landed from rubber dinghies on the night of September 27 and took over the presidential palace in the Comoros islands' capital Moroni.

Denard's lawyer Elie Hatem told the court that the operation — codenamed "Eskazi" — was "teleguided by French politicians ... It was a pretext for France to intervene and get rid of a president."

Reacting to the verdict, Hatem said the court "had it in for the underdogs, because it is very difficult to point the finger at the French state and all the politicians who have gone to ground.

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