Charges against eight Croatians allege that on December 7 last year the four couples acted together with a Zambian immigration official to try to traffic four children aged between one and three from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo
Eight Croatians facing child trafficking charges in Zambia were granted bail on Tuesday following their rearrest last week while trying to leave the Southern African nation.
The charges allege that on December 7 last year, the four couples acted together with a Zambian immigration official to try to traffic four children from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The group said they legally adopted the children aged between one and three years old but Zambian authorities have accused them of trafficking the minors.
The prosecution had opposed the bail application, arguing that the eight were flight risks.
But magistrate Jennipher Bwalya said nothing excluded them from seeking bail if all conditions were met.
“I am inclined to grant the application as there is nothing in the law that stops foreigners from being granted bail,” Bwalya said on Tuesday in the northern city of Ndola, 300 kilometres (180 miles) north of the capital Lusaka.
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