The trial of eight Croatians suspected of child trafficking in Ndola, Zambia was adjourned until Friday because the prosecution did not bring the witnesses it announced, a diplomatic source said, adding that the court ordered the witnesses be apprehended.
The trial began last week with the presentation of evidence against the four Croatian couples and the questioning of an immigration employee and a receptionist in the hotel in which the Croats stayed.
One hearing was already adjourned because witnesses for the prosecution did not show up.
Today, the court in Ndola ordered that the prosecution witnesses be apprehended and said that it will not accept further delays, the diplomatic source told Hina.
The four Croatian couples went to Zambia in December to collect children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, aged one to three, whose adoption had been approved by Croatian courts and for whom the Croatian Interior Ministry had issued Croatian documents.
The Croats were arrested at Ndola airport on 7 December as they were about to leave Zambia on suspicion of child trafficking and document forgery.
They were held in a Zambian prison until 23 January, when they were released on bail. At a 6 February hearing, the judge stopped the trial and ordered the Croats to leave Zambia in 48 hours, but the following week they were back in prison because the indictment against them was expanded. They were re-released on bail shortly thereafter and the trial was moved to a higher court.
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