Four U.S. church AID workers freed on bail in Zimbabwe

Four American medical professionals charged Thursday in Zimbabwe with practising medicine without a license have reportedly been freed on bail and are waiting to be trialed later this month.

A Harare court judge ordered four Americans, one doctor, two nurses, and a community volunteer along with an aid worker from New Zealand and one Zimbabwean to pay $200 each in bail and relinquish their passports.

The four Americans Gloria Cox Crowell, 48, Dr. Anthony Eugene Jones, 39, Gregory Renard Miller, 64, and David Greenburg, 62 and others were also ordered to wait for the trial at the Mother of Peace Orphanage where they were arrested while working. 

The American medical workers, who are affiliated with the Oakland, Calif.-based Christian charity Allen Temple AIDS Ministry, were charged with treating AIDS patients and dispersing antiretroviral drugs without a license. They denied the charges and pleaded not guilty.

Early reports say at least two doctors are licensed to practice medicine in the region where the medical team were arrested and charged.

The California church has been sending its members to Zimbabwe three or four times a year for about a decade to distribute donated antiretroviral drugs, supplements, clothing and other necessities, particularity to orphans whose parents died of AIDS. 

This is the first time AID workers from the U.S. church were arrested for distributing antoretroviral drugs. A church member was cited as saying that the arrest could have something to do with soured relations with a local Zimbabwean organization.

If convicted, these medical workers could be fined and deported. But their lawyer Jonathan Samukange told ABC News that the charges are minor and his clients "will definitely not be going to jail." And he wanted to prove they are innocent.

The following are some interesting comments from our readers. Some readers commented that people in Zimbabwe need help as the Zimbabwean government is corrupt.

The government of Zimbabwe has routinely stolen most donated aid to Zimbabwe, keeping half for government officials and cronies and distributing the rest as if it were from the government itself.

This is true of aid in many other corrupt countries with evil dictators as well as well, not just Zimbabwe.

NGOs that try to go around the government and help the people that the government won't help are routinely arrested. Zimbabawe is one of the most evil governments on the planet, next to Hamas.

Anonymist

For lack of better words, that's "F'd" up. I can't believe these wonderful medical professionals (who went there on their own accord) got such a "slap in the face" for doing something that their OWN government should be doing for their people. Unbelievable. They should be ashamed of themselves!

Melinda

Some readers said Zimbabwe has a right to ban foreign antiretroviral drugs and other goods from getting in their country.

This is the same reasoning that the FDA uses in banning Canadian drugs. Why should Zimbabwe be any different then the FDA? 

Ted Ainsworth

One reader commented that the Zimbabwean government may not have done anything wrong as for so many years the AID workers could not have done anything without the blessing from the Zimbabwean government.

Ten years of operation in Mutoko and Harare and the authorities are just now finding out about it? Unbelievable.

These US health workers were obviously working with the quiet blessing of the Zimbabwean government all along.

Lets not politicize this obvious case of true humanitarianism and internationalism. Lets give thanks to the Zimbabwean government for getting beyond politics all of these years.

The real question is…who became greedy enough to stop poor patients from receiving free medical care

Who wanted to try and make a few dollars by restricting love and concern for human life.

The culprits need to be routed out. The Zimbabwean government needs to take a stand and order the immediate release of these health workers!!!!

DR I 

By Jimmy Downs