Remaining 2 American Missionaries to Be Held in Haiti While Judge Finishes Taking Testimony

Published January 07, 2015

A Haitian judge said American missionaries Laura Silsby and Charisa Coulter will have to wait until at least Tuesday before being freed, Reuters reported.

Investigative judge Bernard Sainvil said he will take testimony that is expected to clear Silsby and Coulter of child kidnapping charges, according to Reuters. Sainvil will hear from witnesses that he has already examined.

"The Americans will have to stay in jail while I hear those people ... the hearings will take place Monday and Tuesday, and they won't be released before I finish," Sainvil told Reuters.

"The people I met in the Dominican Republic all confirmed statements made previously ... by the Americans. The statements played in their favor," he added, according to Reuters.

Sainvil said last Tuesday that the two Americans could be released this week.

Silsby and Coulter were among 10 Americans arrested on January 29 on charges that they tried to take 33 Haitian children out of the country without proper documentation after the January 12 earthquake.

Eight were released last week, but Silsby, the group leader, and Coulter, her assistant, were held in detention for further questioning.

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