http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10825
A Libyan court has sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a
Palestinian doctor to death for knowingly infecting hundreds of
children with HIV in hospital in Libya. The verdict, reached on
Tuesday, has been widely condemned by the international
community.
The defendants burst into tears as the judge passed sentence, while
the families of the children in the case started to celebrate what
they termed "a just verdict", singing and dancing outside the
Tripoli court.
Defence lawyer Othman Bizanti told journalists that an appeal would
be filed before Libya's Supreme Court within the legal time-limit
of 60 days, in the last recourse open to the medics.
The six accused had worked at Al-Fateh hospital in the coastal city
of Benghazi, where it was alleged they had infected 426 children
with HIV. All six pleaded not guilty, saying that they have been
made scapegoats for unhygienic hospitals. Independent scientific
analysis of the mutations in the viruses and other evidence
supports their argument (see
New evidence in Libyan HIV trial and Libya urged
to free medical workers in AIDS retrial).
They are expected to have the right of appeal to the Supreme Court
for a second time. But that will be the last appeal allowed under
Libyan law, defence lawyers said.
Shocking decision
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini called for the decision to
be reviewed. "I'm shocked by this decision," he said, speaking
outside the European parliament in Brussels, Belgium. "I strongly
hope that the Libyan authorities will rethink this decision [which
poses] an obstacle to cooperation with the EU."
The medics have been held since 1999, during which time 52 of the
426 infected children have died of AIDS. The nurses and doctor were
previously sentenced to face a firing squad in May 2004, but
Libya's Supreme Court ordered a retrial following an appeal in
December 2005.
Bulgaria's parliamentary speaker urged Libya not to carry out the
sentences. "We categorically and decisively reject the confirmation
of the death sentences and express our deepest conviction that such
verdicts cannot and must not be carried out," Georgy Pirinski
said.
The case has strained relations between Libya and the west as the
north African state works its way back into the international fold
after renouncing in 2003 its efforts to develop weapons of mass
destruction.
Scientific evidence
Defence lawyers argued that the children had been infected with HIV
before the nurses began working at the hospital.
In November 2006, British medical journal The Lancet blasted the
retrial as a miscarriage of justice with "no legal foundation". It
cited independent scientific evidence that the infections were
caused by bad hygiene at the Benghazi hospital, and reports from
human rights watchdogs that confessions had been extracted under
torture.
However, families of the infected children are pleased with the
trials outcome. "I am happy with the verdict, which shows the
impartiality of the Libyan justice system," said Abullah Moghrabi,
lawyer for the families.
Families of the dead children have demanded US$15 million in
compensation for each lost youngster a claim rejected by the
Bulgarian government, which maintains that its nationals are
innocent.
