Liberia, March 27 -- The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has welcomed the sentencing of five women to 20 years imprisonment each for trafficking 14 children and engaging in criminal conspiracy, describing the ruling as a major step toward protecting children and strengthening Liberia's fight against human trafficking.

The judgment was handed down on Monday by Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie of Criminal Court "A" at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia during the February Term of Court in Montserrado County.

The convicted women - Halimantu Daramy, Grace Sesay, Hawa Kamara, Henrita Beayce, and Famata Doe - were prosecuted by the Ministry of Justice, with support from the legal team of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social ...