US missionaries in Haiti charged

Haiti has charged 10 United States missionaries with child abduction and criminal conspiracy for allegedly trying to smuggle 33 children out of the country.



Haitian officials say their cases will now be sent to an investigating judge who will decide how to proceed.



If convicted they face lengthy jail terms.



The five men and five women were arrested last Friday when they were stopped at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.



The missionaries claimed that they were taking the children of the earthquake stricken island to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.



However, Haitian authorities have accused them of kidnapping.