HAITI: Laura Silsby, head of a U.S. Christian missionary group jailed on charges of kidnapping children in the chaos that followed earthquake, has been freed

Record ID: 863005

  • Title: HAITI: Laura Silsby, head of a U.S. Christian missionary group jailed on charges of kidnapping children in the chaos that followed earthquake, has been freed
  • Date: 18th May 2010
  • Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (FILE) (REUTERS) SILSBY BEING TAKEN TO COURT
  • Embargoed: 2nd June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Haiti
  • City:
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVABM7CLX5V9LDCQ9YJ3W3VVAIE5
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  • Story Text: The head of a U.S. Christian missionary group jailed on charges of kidnapping children in the chaos that followed Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake was freed on Monday (May 17), the Haitian Assistant Attorney General said.
    Laura Silsby, who was arrested on Jan. 29, was ordered freed by a Haitian judge after the kidnapping charges were reduced to a lesser charge of illegal travel, Assistant Attorney General Sonel Jean-Francois told Reuters.
    He said the judge hearing Silsby's case ruled that time she had already served behind bars was sufficient punishment for the lesser crime of which she was convicted.
    "Last Thursday the case was heard by a judge and Laura Silsby was sentenced to six months in prison by the judge of the public minister," said Jean-Francois. "However, the judge in the case only found her guilty to spend only three months and eight days in jail."
    "Laura Silsby has already spent her time in jail of about three months, and this is why she is now free," he said.
    Silsby was due to fly out of Haiti for the United States later on Monday, her lawyer said.
    Silsby headed a group of 10 missionaries, most of them linked to a Baptist church in Idaho, who were arrested on charges they tried to take 33 children out of the country without proper documents.
    All but Silsby had since been freed in a case that highlighted fears child traffickers could prey on vulnerable children after the quake.
    Critics said the case diverted attention from the plight of more than 1 million people displaced by the quake, including thousands of orphaned children.
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