Consular protection has been provided to eight Croatians detained in Zambia on suspicion of human trafficking, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman said on Thursday.

The four Croatian couples were recently arrested in Zambia where they had come to take over the adopted children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They were apprehended after their papers for the adoption of the four children appeared to be invalid.

Grlic-Radman said that Zagreb expects that “the people can be released.”

“They are certainly not guilty, but it should be established who should be held to account,” the minister told the press in Zagreb.

The relevant consular officer has visited the arrested couples three times, Grlic-Radman said, but noted that Croatia could not interfere in the judicial system of Zambia.

No formal charges

The four couples have not been formally charged yet, the Ministry told Hina on Thursday.

“An indictment has not been issued yet, and an investigation is under way to check the authenticity of the foreign documents used in the process of adoption of children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the Ministry said in response to a query from Hina.

The competent authorities of Zambia and the court-appointed lawyer have been asked to treat the Croatian nationals humanely, respect their dignity, provide them with medical assistance if necessary, question them in the language they understand, and not to presume them to be guilty regardless of the severity of the crime of which they are suspected.

Given that the four children, aged from one to three years, are separated from their adoptive parents and placed in the care of social services, Hina asked the Ministry what kind of assistance Croatia was providing considering the fact that the children have Croatian documents.

“It is not possible to visit the children because the Zambian authorities contest the legality of the adoption process and the children’s Croatian citizenship. According to the information from the competent Zambian authorities, the children have been placed in a social care centre,” the Ministry said.