Eight Croatians accused of child trafficking were acquitted by a court in Zambia. The charges were dropped after their attorneys submitted applications to the court. The eight individuals, consisting of four couples, included musicians and medical professionals, who had previously entered not-guilty pleas.
The Croatians were accused of trafficking children from Congo on December 7 last year and claimed they adopted the children through a lawyer.
“Having heard from the lawyers I have therefore discharged all the eight accused persons and therefore they are free to go,” the magistrate said.
When the case was heard, the Croatian couples’ lawyers requested that the charges be dropped, and the court obliged due to a lack of objections from prosecutors or sufficient evidence for conviction.
The foreign ministry of Croatia announced that the couples were instructed to leave Zambia within 48 hours of the acquittal. It remains unclear who is caring for the children who were intended to be adopted.