2 US Couples Jailed in Egypt Over Alleged Baby-Buying
In the United States, it is common for adults to adopt children who aren’t their own biological offspring and give them their name, not infrequently traveling abroad to do so.
But it’s not only unusual but illegal in Egypt, which prohibits adoption by foreigners. Unfamiliar with the law there, a North Carolina couple traveled to the country last year to adopt an infant son and daughter, a family member tells Reuters.
Now Louis Andros and Iris Botros are jailed awaiting a criminal trial next month, along with another U.S. couple, on charges of illegal baby-buying, reports Reuters in another article. A third U.S. couple is accused, in a similar case, of trying to obtain a visa with a forged birth certificate but is now believed to be at home with the baby they got in Egypt.
Such prosecutions of foreigners are highly unusual, if not unprecedented, in Egypt, the news agency reports.
Additional coverage:
Reuters: “Egypt prosecutors charge 11 in baby buying scheme”
