Het Parool

19-10-1994

4

■ Two years in prison for baby smuggling in Romania
:A baby for $6,000
 

Bucharest (taz) – The British media were shocked by the “harsh verdict” and defended the Mooney couple. They only wanted to free orphans from a miserable life - now they have to go behind Romanian bars for their good intentions.

In Romania, on the other hand, the British couple attracted little pity - but their case caused even more of a stir: while trying to smuggle the three-month-old baby Monica across the Hungarian-Romanian border, which they had previously bought for $6,000, Adrian and Bernadette Mooney caught. Last Friday, a Bucharest court sentenced the couple to 24 months in prison for illegal border crossing and illegal adoption. The parents, Florin Baiaram and Florina Dimir, both 17 years old, each received a one-year prison sentence, which they will have to serve when they come of age. The broker of the deal, an acquaintance of the parents, has to be behind bars for 28 months.

Although the two Brits are the first foreigners to be convicted of child trafficking in Romania, the adoption business is booming. After the relevant legal regulations were generously relaxed in the summer of 1990, the Romanian Ministry of Justice registered around 10,000 adoptions abroad in the following 12 months - a third of all adoptions in the world. However, the authorities once again put a stop to the “child transfer”, which was only loosely controlled by the state-run “Romanian Committee for Adoptions” (CRA): foreign citizens are now only allowed to adopt children who are on the CRA’s list, and only then if no Romanian parents have been found for them within six months.

Child trafficking is now illegal. In southern Hungary, for example, two years ago the police discovered a Romanian smuggling ring that was selling Romanian children to western countries. According to the Romanian Ministry of Justice, traffickers also use legal tricks to obtain adoption papers. Under the pretext that these are children suffering from AIDS or disabled and therefore in need of humanitarian aid, in reality healthy children are being “exported”.

Baby couple stunned by jail sentence: Romanian court's 28-month penalty is intended to deter traffic in children, reports Adrian Bridge ADRIAN BRIDGE Saturday 15 October 1994 Shares: 0 Print A A A A BRITISH couple were yesterday jailed for two years and four months for attempting to buy a Romanian baby and to smuggle her out of the country for adoption. Adrian and Bernadette Mooney were not in court to hear the verdict. A spokesman for the British embassy in Bucharest said they were 'deeply distressed' when they found out. The Mooneys' lawyer, Ioana Floca, lodged an appeal against the sentences, which she described as 'unfair and unnecessarily harsh'. Announcing the verdict, Judge Madalina Buta ordered that the Mooneys should be arrested. The court later agreed that the couple could remain free on bail pending the outcome of the appeal. Laurie Bristow, spokesman for the British embassy in Bucharest, said the Mooneys were 'deeply disappointed' at the verdict and felt unable to make an immediate comment. He said it was unclear how long the appeal process would last. The trial, which lasted six weeks, is the first involving westerners accused of breaking Romania's strict adoption laws. The couple admitted paying dollars 6,000 ( pounds 4,000) to a Romanian middleman for a five-month-old baby girl in July. They also admitted trying to cross the border into Hungary with the baby, Monica, concealed in a cardboard box in the back of their car. But they denied knowingly having broken the law. 'The Mooneys only wanted to do a good thing for the child,' Mrs Floca told the court this week in a final plea for clemency. Denouncing yesterday's verdict as 'hard and drastic', she said that Judge Buta 'should have considered the Mooneys' motivation - not just the facts'. In addition to the 28- month sentences for breaking adoption laws, the Mooneys, of Wokingham, Berkshire, were given two-year sentences for violating border laws. The latter sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Judge Buta ordered that on completion of the jail term the Mooneys be deported. The three middlemen involved in the case were each jailed for two years and eight months, while the baby's natural parents, both 17-year-old gypsies, were sentenced to one year's jail, to begin when they reach 18. Judge Buta was expressionless as she read out the verdict, for which she offered no explanation. Others, however, saw its harshness as a clear indication of Romania's determination to clamp down on the illegal trafficking of babies. 'Naturally, one never likes to think of people going to jail. But no matter how sorry you feel for the couple, it is pleasing to see that Romanians are serious about stopping illegal adoptions,' said Anne Arthur, head of the Bucharest branch of the British- funded Romanian Orphanage Trust. 'This should certainly deter anyone else thinking of adopting illegally.' Mr Mooney's brother, Kevin, said: 'They are absolutely devastated. I am worried that they are both on the edge of a nervous breakdown and I can't see suicide being far away from their thoughts.'

'

Nieuwsblad van het Noorden

23-09-1994

4

RIJSWIJK - Adult adopted childrenare not necessarily entitled to all information from the files about their natural parents. The Registration Chamber, which supervises compliance with the Personal Registration Act, determined this yesterday.

The foundation Fiom in 's-Hertogenbosch, who assists parents and children in adoption cases, had asked the Registration Chamber for advice on how to act in the event of an adult adopted childrendemand all information from the files about their biological parents. The Fiom does not consider this requirement reasonable, because such a file often contains personal information that the mother (or father) at the time provided in confidence to the care provider.

The Fiom was attacked about this' by the Foundation Descendants, who think that is a minor adopted childrenalways entitled to all information. The Registratiekamer has now determined that such a request must be considered “on a case-by-case basis”adopted childrenare entitled to information about the name, origin and place of residence of their parents and the reasons why they have renounced their child. In principle, a duty of confidentiality applies to medical data and psychiatric reports, according to the Registration Chamber,

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,yA.doptiekind mag dossier ouders beperkt inzien"

`Anything for the Children' edtext

The Washington Post | September 14, 1994 | Copyright 1994 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

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Helping Map Out International Adoptions

By Penny Singer

Aug. 7, 1994

Credit...The New York Times Archives

See the article in its original context from

L'INCROYABLE CHASSE AUX BEBES ROUMAINS

AFP

Page 15

Mercredi 27 juillet 1994

L'incroyable chasse aux bébés roumains

Why Rosa took her baby back: Adoption by foreigners is not the only answer for Romania's abandoned children. Adrian Bridge reports

Adrian Bridge

Thursday 21 July 1994 23:02 BST