Saudi, Hungarian defense ministers discuss military ties    Al-Rajhi: Cabinet's decision is supportive to most vulnerable groups    King Salman appoints Dr. Majid Al-Fayyad as Royal Court advisor    Alkhorayef emphasizes Saudi Arabia's growing role as global industrial investment hub    Saudi Arabia adopts World Drowning Prevention Day as national health priority    GACA imposes SR2.8 million in fines for 87 civil aviation violations in Q2 2025    Desperate Gaza doctors cram several babies into one incubator as fuel crisis reaches critical point    ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders over women's rights violations    Syria issues appeal to EU for help battling massive wildfires along northwestern coast    Total e-messages sent to parties in lawsuits reach over 11.8 million during first half of 2025    3 arrested in assault case in Riyadh    New Property Ownership Law will take into effect in January 2026 Al-Hogail thanks King and Crown Prince for the updated law    HONOR returns to Esports World Cup as Official Smartphone Partner for 2025 The renewed commitment will see HONOR elevate mobile esports competition with cutting-edge AI technologies and industry-leading hardware    Riot Games responds to match-fixing allegations in VALORANT    BLAST responds to BESTIA Visa controversy ahead of CS2 Austin major    Christophe Galtier named NEOM SC head coach ahead of historic Saudi Pro League debut    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



US Baptists charged with abduction of Haiti children
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 05 - 02 - 2010

Ten members of a US missionary group who tried to take 33 children out of Haiti after the nation's devastating earthquake were charged with child kidnapping and criminal association Thursday, their Haitian lawyer said.
Edwin Coq said after a court hearing that a judge found sufficient evidence to charge the Americans, who were arrested Friday at Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic.
Group leader Laura Silsby has said they were trying to take orphans and abandoned children to an orphanage in the neighboring Dominican Republic.
She acknowledged they may have lacked paperwork but said they just meant to help victims of the quake. Officials say many of the children still have parents.
The US citizens, most of them members of an Idaho-based church group, were whisked away from the closed court hearing to jail in Port-au-Prince, the capital. One of them, Laura Silsby, waved and smiled faintly to reporters but declined to answer questions.
Coq said that under Haiti's legal system, there won't be an open trial, but a judge will consider the evidence and could render a verdict in about three months.
Coq said a Haitian prosecutor told him the Americans were charged because they had the children in their possession. No one from the Haitian government could be reached immediately for comment.
Each kidnapping count carries a possible sentence of five to 15 years in prison. Each criminal association count has a potential sentence of three to nine years.
Coq said that nine of the 10 knew nothing about the alleged scheme, or that paperwork for the children was not in order. “I'm going to do everything I can to get the nine out,” Coq said. That would still leave mission leader Laura Silsby facing charges.
Only minutes earlier, the Americans' Dominican lawyer, Jorge Puello, had said he expected at least nine of the 10 to be released Thursday, and said he was arranging a charter flight for them from Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Washington the US was monitoring the case and was open to discuss “other legal avenues” for the defendants – an apparent reference to the Haitian prime minister's earlier suggestion that Haiti could consider sending the Americans back to the US for prosecution.
“But right now the matter rests within the Haitian judicial system,” he said.


Clic here to read the story from its source.