Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Monday that the detention of eight Croatian citizens in Zambia is a very specific case in which the Ministry of Interior, in coordination with the Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) is conducting confidential investigations.

Asked by the press what duties are given to an interdepartmental task force which has been assigned to investigate what actually happened in the case of four Croatian couples who tried to adopt four children from DR Congo and are currently detained in Zambia on suspicion of attempted child trafficking, Bozinovic replied that the task force was established so that everyone does their part of the job in terms of legal jurisdiction.

Very sensitive issue

“This is a particular case. The Ministry of Interior, in coordination with USKOK, is conducting an investigation that is confidential. It should always be noted that this is a very sensitive issue considering it involves a vulnerable population, primarily children,” said Bozinovic, during his visit to the central Croatian town of Sisak.

When asked if he had any knowledge that one of the Croatian citizens was in a Zambian hospital due to malaria, Bozinovic said that he did not have such information at the moment, but he was sure that the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs had representatives on the ground who could answer that question.

“It is certainly not easy for the Croatian citizens in Zambia. Each of our diplomatic missions is required to provide consular protection to Croatian citizens abroad. As for the court proceedings, it is in a different legal system and in a different country. However, consular protection is also envisaged by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Certainly, everyone is doing their utmost in this process, but it has been clear from day one that this case is not simple,” he said.