Eight Croatians facing child-trafficking charges in Zambia were granted bail on Tuesday after being arrested again last week as they tried to leave the southern African country.
She was arrested last Tuesday for the second time after being arrested in December when she tried to leave Zambia with her four children.
The group, which includes four couples, said they legally adopted the children from the Democratic Republic of Congo, but Zambian authorities accused them of selling the minors.
He was charged alongside a senior Zambian immigration official.
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Prosecutors have opposed the bail application, arguing that the eight are flight risks.
But judge Jennipher Bwalya said nothing ruled him out asking for bail if all conditions were met.
“I am inclined to grant the application because there is nothing in the law that prevents foreigners from being released,” judge Bwalya said Tuesday in the northern town of Ndola, 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of the capital Lusaka.
They were ordered to pay 20,000 kwacha (about $1,000) each as a surety fee and offer two sureties from reputable organizations.
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The trial for the group, which was first arrested on December 7 last year, will begin on March 1.
Nothing was said in court about the child’s whereabouts or status.
The case has sparked a fierce public debate in Croatia and thrust international adoption into the spotlight in the Balkan country, where potential adopters far outnumber eligible children.
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