Jail terms for traffickers at baby sales trial 02/02/2007 00:00

PARIS, Feb 2, 2007 (AFP) - A French court on Friday jailed 11 people for up to six years for selling Bulgarian babies to childless Roma couples.

At the end of a two-week trial, the nine Bulgarians and two French men were found guilty of "trading in human beings" and given prison terms of between two and six years.

 The court also gave short jail terms to four of 41 Roma who were convicted of buying the babies. Of the rest 34, were given suspended jail terms of six months, one was fined and two were given no sentence.

The trial examined the purchase of 22 babies born to Bulgarian women between 2001 and 2005. They were bought by French Roma families for between 5,000 and 7,500 euros (6,500 and 10,000 dollars).

The mothers, many of them prostitutes, were brought to France to give birth, and the babies were registered in hospital under the names of the buyers.

Despite the court case, in most instances custody of the children has been confirmed for the purchasing "parents".

Copyright AFP

Subject; French news, Baby trafficing