Haitian Judge Frees Eight of the 10 American Missionaries Detained on Kidnapping Charges

Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said Laura Silsby, the group leader, and Charisa Coulter, will be kept in Haiti but the others were free to leave the country.

"I have already prepared the draft to order the release of eight of the Americans today but as far as Mrs Silsby and Mrs Coulter are concerned I need to ask some further questions," the judge said.

The main drama for American missionaries arrested on kidnapping charges in Haiti may have come to an end Wednesday, when a judge freed eight of 10 from jail.

The case divided the world in two camps: those who saw the Americans as potential child traffickers and those who saw them as do-gooders unfairly punished for trying to help victims of the earthquake.