Jolie's adoption of Zahara is 'legal'

The agency that approved Angelina Jolie's adoption of Ethiopian baby girl Zahara in 2005 has insisted that it was "legal".

The news comes after reports this week that Zahara's grandmother was insisting that the paperwork was incorrect and that she should be returned home to Africa because her biological mother was still alive.

But Dr Tsegaye Berhe, head of the Wide Horizons for Children agency that granted Jolie the adoption, told Reuters that it was simply "media hype by unethical journalists".

Zahara's grandmother had sent a letter to the court claiming that the baby's mother was dead. Dr Berhe revealed: "The court in Addis Ababa approved the adoption after studying the document her grandmother wrote. The grandmother brought three witnesses to court who testified that Zahara's mother had died and that her father was unknown.

"The court also investigated the social status of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt before approving the adoption".

He added that the adoption was completely "legal and irrevocable."

Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt also have two adopted sons, one called Maddox from Cambodia and one that they adopted from Vietnam in March, called Pax Thien.

The Hollywood couple also have a biological daughter, Shiloh Nouvel, who was born in Namibia, Africa.