July 24, 2007
Jailed Medics Freed From Libya
Five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor arrived today by plane in Sofia, Bulgaria, after being released from a prison in Libya.
Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov immediately pardoned the medics, who had spent eight and a half years as captives. The Libyan government accused them of deliberately infecting hospitalized children with HIV and had sentenced them to life in prison.
No money was exchanged for their release, but negotiators did promise to try to improve relations between the two countries. French President Nicolas Sarkozy planned to visit Libya tomorrow to help the country "rejoin the international community."
