Haiti judge advises release of Americans charged with kidnapping

The judge made the recommendation Thursday for the 10 Americans charged with child kidnapping in Haiti. Prosecutors in the case will weigh in as well.

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Ramon Espinosa/AP
Laura Silsby, one of ten Americans arrested while trying to bus children out of Haiti without proper documents or government permission, arrives for a court hearing in Port-au-Prince, Wednesday.

The judge in the case of 10 Americans charged with child kidnapping in Haiti recommended Thursday that the accused missionaries be released and allowed to leave the country – while keeping a representative in Haiti to respond to any additional questions in the case.

The judge's opinion still will be reviewed by prosecutors in the case. The prosecutors' decision could take up to five days to be issued, Haitian judicial officials said.

But the judge’s recommendation would do nothing to address the plight of the children involved in the case – at least some of whom were given up to the Americans by parents who believed the foreign missionaries’ promise of providing the children a better life.

Click here to read a Monitor report from earlier Thursday about this issue.

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