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Libya families end execution bid Libya families end execution bid
(30 minutes later)
Families of Libyan children infected with HIV have dropped demands for six foreign medical workers convicted in the case to be sentenced to death.Families of Libyan children infected with HIV have dropped demands for six foreign medical workers convicted in the case to be sentenced to death.
They will hand the decision to Libya's High Judicial Council, which is due to make the final ruling on the matter.They will hand the decision to Libya's High Judicial Council, which is due to make the final ruling on the matter.
Relatives of 438 children have accepted compensation worth $1m per child.Relatives of 438 children have accepted compensation worth $1m per child.
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor have been convicted of deliberately starting a HIV epidemic in the 1990s. They say they are innocent.Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor have been convicted of deliberately starting a HIV epidemic in the 1990s. They say they are innocent.
Libya's Supreme Court last week upheld their 2004 death sentences, placing the medics fate with the High Judicial Council.Libya's Supreme Court last week upheld their 2004 death sentences, placing the medics fate with the High Judicial Council.
The council, a semi-political body, is due to meet later on Tuesday. It has the power to commute sentences or issue pardons.The council, a semi-political body, is due to meet later on Tuesday. It has the power to commute sentences or issue pardons.
TRIAL IN DATES 1999: 19 Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian doctor are arrested at a Benghazi hospital after an outbreak of HIV/Aids among children. 13 are later freedMay 2004: Libya convicts and sentences five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor for infecting children with HIV. A Bulgarian doctor is freedDec 2005: Libyan Supreme Court overturns the convictions and orders a retrialDec 2006: Medics sentenced to death a second timeFeb 2007: Medics appeal to the Libyan Supreme CourtJune 2007: Top EU officials hold talks in Libya to try to secure medics' release11 July 2007: Libya's Supreme Court upholds death sentences Profile of the medics Timeline: Medics trial
The BBC's Rana Jawad, in the Libyan capital Tripoli, says that under Islamic law financial compensation offsets the death penalty.The BBC's Rana Jawad, in the Libyan capital Tripoli, says that under Islamic law financial compensation offsets the death penalty.
The deal indicates that it is highly unlikely that the death penalty verdicts will be upheld, she adds.The deal indicates that it is highly unlikely that the death penalty verdicts will be upheld, she adds.
At the weekend the medics signed a letter of request for pardon and mercy, as well as a document ruling out any further legal action against the Libyan state over the prison time they have so far served.
A spokesman for the relatives, Idriss Lagha, said that all the families had now received compensation.
The medics were convicted of deliberately injecting 438 children with HIV-tainted blood. Fifty-six children have since died.
The six, who have been in prison since 1999, say they were tortured to confess.
Foreign experts say the infections started before the medics arrived at the hospital, and are more likely to have been a result of poor hygiene.
Bulgaria, its allies in the European Union, and the United States say Libya has used the case to deflect criticism from its run-down health service.
They have also suggested that not freeing the nurses could carry a diplomatic price for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who is seeking to emerge from more than three decades of diplomatic isolation.