A court in Zambia will decide on Thursday whether to drop a case against four couples from Croatia indicted for child trafficking or continue with the trial, Hina learned on Monday from Croatian diplomatic sources.

The last witness for the prosecution, an officer who on 7 December 2022 arrested the eight Croatians, was cross-examined today, and the next hearing will be held on 1 June to decide if, based on the evidence presented so far, the case will be dismissed or enter a second phase, during which the four couples would present their defence, a source from the Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Ministry said.

The four 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 as to the authenticity of the documents. Later on, they were indicted for child trafficking and the children were taken away from them.