Two US couples have been jailed for 2 years in Egypt for trying to illegally adopt children. Coptic Christian church in Cairo offered orphaned twins to Iris Botros and her husband Louis Andros. They were arrested for child trafficking when they applied to take the children out of the country. In Egypt the adopting couple must be Egyptian, the name of the child must not be changed and the children should not be removed from the country. These customs are not as clear in the Coptic minority. The court heard that a church orphanage in Cairo had supplied forged documents that Iris Botros had given birth to twins.
The couples' relatives say they were not aware they were doing anything wrong and that they had reportedly asked if the process was legal and had been assured that it was.
Read the rest of this article for further information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8261444.stm Do you believe this is a fair punishment for what these couples were trying to do?
Although I disagree with those standards set for adoption in Egypt, the law is the law. If they chose to not respect the rules in the country they attempted to adopt from, then they indeed should face consequences. Two years may be a BIT harsh, but it was for the well-being of the innocent children.
No i dont belive that was a fair punishment if they trully didnt know what they were doing was wrong. but two years is a very harsh punshiment for what they didnt know they were doing they should of just let them not have the chrildren and make them go back to the US instead of what there having to do now
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"It is forbidden to kill,therefore all murders are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."-Voltaire
Since they allegedly had been "assured" that the process was legal, I don't necessarily think 2 years is a fair punishment. However, when one enters into the child adoption process, they must know the laws regarding it in the country they intend to adopt from. This is particularly crucial in this case, as it was an "international adoption", if you will, in which the couple intended to take the children back to the United States.
So while I feel that the punishment is a bit on the harsh side, especially since this seems to be an innocent mistake on the couple's part, I do feel that their lack of attention to detail is their own fault. They should be punished for not thoroughly looking into Egypt's child adoption regulations, but all in all, this punishment may be over the top.
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-Jordan Allen
"Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived." -Shane Claiborne
there should be a hole for them to get out of. if they honestly didn't know, it's not right to punish them. and it's not like they were trying to kidnap this child. -_- anyways,s, i hope they get justice!
I think that they were not exactlys mart about the situation and should have done previous research into what the adoption laws were as opposed the just taking their word. However, i don't think they should be given any jail time. I think they should be removed from Egypt and not given the children. But 2 years is absolutely ridiculous!! I would also liek to say that i think their adoption policies as of the parent having to be Egyptian are petty much raicist.
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"Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. "
-Eleanor Roosavelt
If the couple didn't know that they were doing anything wrong, then I dont believe the punishment was fair....it was definately harsh. However, If they actually did know it was illegal, they shouldn't have tried to adopt in the first place, and should understand the consquences that come with breaking the law. Speaking of laws, they should have known the adoption laws in their country anyways. However, assuming that they truely didn't know, I think they were trying to do a good thing by adopting a child and shouldnt be jailed for doing so....maybe just forced to return the child to his/her original home.
i believe that the punishment is to harsh due to the circumstances. if the couple truely didnt know about the adoption policies then they shouldnt be the ones getting punished. but i also believe that they should have looked into the policies more carefully before they tried to adopt from Egypt.
i think the punishment was too harsh, they wernt doing anything wrong. although they should have looked into the countrys adoption policies more carfully before trying to adopt there.
I don't think the punishment was fair because the couple had asked if the process was legal and they had been told so. Also, what they were doing wasn't a bad thing, they should have looked more into the country's policies, but it wasn't as if they were doing anything harmful.