Baby traffickers convicted in Indonesia

Alex Ritson (0:00)

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Alex Ritson, and on Tuesday the 21st of July, these are our main stories. A court in Indonesia has convicted 19 people of trafficking at least 34 babies by selling them for adoption in Indonesia and Singapore. Lebanon's president is due to meet Donald Trump as so-called pilot safe zones come into force in southern Lebanon with the support of Israel and enforced by Lebanese troops. Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo say the Ebola outbreak is spreading further after a new affected health zone was confirmed in Aturi province.

Richard Hamilton (0:45)

Also in this podcast, Trent's Park House was prison for captured German generals, but microphones were hidden inside skirting boards, window ledges, garden benches, and even the billiard table.

Alex Ritson (0:58)

What does a new London museum tell us about surveillance during World War II?

We begin in Indonesia, where in a high-profile court case, 19 people have been convicted of illegally buying and selling children for adoption. The child trafficking ring, which has been operating since 2023, illegally bought babies in West Java and sold them for adoption in both Indonesia and Singapore. It was led by a 70-year-old woman who recruited others to broker deals and pose as the children's biological mothers. All were handed jail terms, ranging from three to seven years. But the verdict leaves many questions unanswered, particularly whether the adopted babies will be taken back to their biological families. Our correspondent Lisa Tambanan told me more about the case.

Liza Tambunan (1:52)

This had been going on for years, and it was revealed in court that the way that the trafficking ring operated was reaching out to parents via social media and even WhatsApp with an excuse of wanting to adopt their child. Later, it was actually found out that they were essentially selling these babies, and some of the people in Singapore who adopted them were actually not aware of the circumstances surrounding this because from the Indonesian side it was found out that there were legal documents and these legal documents were actually proper but what was not proper was the information that was stipulated in these dots.

Alex Ritson (2:39)

The birth parents, did they realise that they were selling their children?

Liza Tambunan (2:43)

This is also another complexity with the case because as it is understood that some of the parents who gave up their children in these adoption processes, they are facing economic hardship. So they were aware that they were getting some monetary compensation. However, as it is understood, the compensation was actually much smaller than what was later revealed in the investigation where a child that was sent to Singapore could have been bought for almost $14,000 and it is known that most of this money stayed within the middlemen.

Alex Ritson (3:17)

What are people making of this in Singapore and in Indonesia?

Liza Tambunan (3:21)

There's now very serious concern regarding child protection in Indonesia.

However, on one hand, in Indonesia, it is not uncommon to quote unquote give your child to perhaps a better off relative or friend who could take better care of your child. But these are not legal adoption processes. And in this case, the fact that so many nuances to this case also brought out the complexities of parents who don't have another choice or other opportunities to improve the welfare of their family or their children.

Alex Ritson (4:02)

This has been going on for a long time. What's going to happen to those children who've been perhaps living with families for some time?

Liza Tambunan (4:09)

That is one of the main concerns because as far as it is understood, the parents who adopted them went through legal means.

So there are complexities in ways of handling this post-burdict. We have not gotten an explanation from the officials overseeing those cases in which the children have been adopted into families in Singapore.

Alex Ritson (4:33)

Liza Tambunan.

A deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon and the disarmament of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah is facing its first test on the ground. The Lebanese military is beginning to take charge of security in three Southern villages. Under the US Brokered Plan, Israel is to hand over control of some areas it occupies in Lebanon. So how much will this help? Mark Dow is a Lebanese Druze MP who is described as an independent reformist and is opposed to Hezbollah's armed status.

Mark Dow (5:08)

Most of the villages that the Lebanese army is moving into today are villages that are not under occupation but are part of an agreement to de-escalate the conflict in certain areas. So the way things are going now, this is a trust building factor that will help and contribute positively to ending the conflict.