Bulgaria - child trafficking case "Affaire bébés bulgares"
56 people went on trial accused of being part of a network that brought pregnant women from Bulgaria to France - and sold their babies to childless couples.
The babies' mothers were promised large sums of money by leaders of the network to come to France, give birth and hand their babies over to other couples. Usually they only received a tiny fraction of the money, and prosecutors say the network often forced them to become prostitutes or beggars after giving birth.
The trial of trafficking in human beings ended with the verdict of the court in Bobigny. Bulgarian providers and French parents in need of children will spend up to six years behind bars. Some other intermediaries were sentenced to lesser penalties.
The babies' mothers were promised large sums of money by leaders of the network to come to France, give birth and hand their babies over to other couples. Usually they only received a tiny fraction of the money, and prosecutors say the network often forced them to become prostitutes or beggars after giving birth.
The trial of trafficking in human beings ended with the verdict of the court in Bobigny. Bulgarian providers and French parents in need of children will spend up to six years behind bars. Some other intermediaries were sentenced to lesser penalties.
Date: 2007-01-22
Number of children:
Facilitators
Persons: Tinka Georgieva and husband Gancho Georgiev, Henri Salva, Dimitar Georgiev and wife Georgieva, Ginka Stoyanova, Français Abdel Basset Galoul, Zapryanka Nikolova
Location
Bulgaria
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