Zimbabwe court grants bail to US health workers accused of treating AIDS without license

Zimbabwe court frees on bail US health workers

HARARE, Zimbabwe — A Zimbabwean court has freed on bail four Americans arrested and accused of treating AIDS patients without proper medical licenses.

A magistrate ordered the six health workers, who included a New Zealand national and a Zimbabwean, to pay a $200 bail and to reappear in court on Sept. 27. They could face a fine and deportation. The court ordered them to surrender their passports and live at their Mother of Peace Orphanage outside Harare until their trial.

The six are also accused of distributing AIDS medications without a pharmacist’s supervision or license.

The California church that sponsors their work says the church has been working in Zimbabwe for more than a decade and that this is the first time licensing questions have been raised.