July 17, 2007

Libyan Court Commutes Death Sentences For Foreign Medics

Under intense international pressure, Libya's supreme court has decided to spare six foreign medical workers from execution. The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor are accused of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV in the 1990s.

Bulgaria, in concert with the EU, has been campaigning heavily to bring the nurses home. The case has attracted international attention. Pop singer George Michael held a concert in the nurses' honor in May, and France's first lady visited the prisoners last week.

BBC News reports that the case will now be handled via diplomatic channels. The Palestinian was given Bulgarian citizenship so Sofia could negotiate on his behalf to extract all six and bring them to Bulgaria. The prisoners have long denied their guilt, and a WHO investigation pinpointed unsanitary conditions in the hospitals as the culprit for the mass infections. It is believed that the six confessed after being tortured, and that a propaganda campaign by Tripoli led the families to blame the foreigners.

The families dropped their calls for the medics to be executed, however, after a compensation deal was reached in which they received about $1 million per child.

Once considered a major terror threat to the West, Libya has made moves toward normalizing relations with the world community. Leader Moammar Gadhafi surprised the world when he pledged to give up his nuclear program in 2003. Last week, President Bush nominated Gene Cretz to be the first U.S. ambassador to Libya since 1972.

Posted at 4:36 PM
Posted to: Africa, EU, Europe, Libya, Middle East, Palestinians
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