The 10 Americans being held in jail for attempting to take Haitian children out of their native country will likely stay right where they are until at least next week. Today marks 30 days since the devastating 7.0 earthquake hit the country and government offices are closed for a three day period of mourning. For the missionaries from a Baptist church in Idaho, that means they must wait until at least Monday before prosecutors in the case review Judge Bernard Saint-Vil’s recommendation to release the men and women. The judge has the final say, but the prosecution still has the right to appeal his decision.
At this point, it’s still unclear when and if the Americans, who are charged with kidnapping, will be released from jail pending more investigative work in the case or if they will be free to return home. One possibility is a temporary release to the United States, with the stipulation that a responsible party remain in Haiti until the conclusion of the investigation.
Today, the United States Ambassador to Haiti, Kenneth H. Merten told reporters during a briefing, missionaries are being fed, they are safe and have access to medicine. Ambassador Merton also said that the U.S. Embassy is not geting involved at this point, saying, “We have told the Haitian government that if they want to have any conversations with us, about about these people and their situation, we are open to that. But beyond that, they’ve engaged legal counsel and the process is working its way through the Haitian courts. Beyond that, i’m not sure there’s really much else to tell, quite frankly.”
PJ Crowley, U.S. State Department Spokesperson says, the Haitain legal system continues to evaluate the charges against the ten Americans and said, “we have received no formal notifications from the Haitian government as to a resolution of this case, and I wouldn’t expect one through this three day period of mourning. So to the extent that the judge in the case would have something to announce, I would expect that would be early next week.”