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Bulgaria seeks HIV medics' return | Bulgaria seeks HIV medics' return |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Bulgaria is expected to begin moves to secure the transfer from Libya of six Bulgarian medics convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV. | Bulgaria is expected to begin moves to secure the transfer from Libya of six Bulgarian medics convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV. |
Death sentences on the six - five nurses and a Palestinian doctor who holds Bulgarian citizenship - were commuted to life in prison on Tuesday. | |
The move came after families of the 438 children agreed a compensation deal. | |
The six were convicted in 2004 but say they are innocent. Bulgaria has lobbied internationally for their return. | |
Libya and Bulgaria have a bilateral agreement on prisoner exchange. | Libya and Bulgaria have a bilateral agreement on prisoner exchange. |
French President Nicolas Sarkozy may meanwhile travel to Libya to mediate in the dispute between the two countries. | |
A spokesman for the president said Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had invited Mr Sarkozy to Tripoli. | |
"Of course, the president accepted the invitation, which he will honour quickly if it can be useful to the resolution of the matter," the spokesman said. | |
Request for pardon | |
A Bulgarian judiciary official said diplomats are to start working towards bringing the medical workers home. | |
All judicial options are real Ivailo Kalfin,Bulgarian Foreign Minister Case highlights Libyan reform | |
Their main Libyan defence lawyer, Osman al-Bizant, told the al-Jazeera television network that their deportation would depend on whether there was the possibility of carrying out the punishment in Bulgaria. | |
But Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin, when asked whether it was possible that the medics would be pardoned after returning home, replied: "All judicial options are real." | But Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin, when asked whether it was possible that the medics would be pardoned after returning home, replied: "All judicial options are real." |
Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam said Tripoli was willing to consider the medics' transfer to Bulgaria. | |
"In return, improving the conditions of the infected children and their families should be taken into account," he told the Associated Press news agency. | "In return, improving the conditions of the infected children and their families should be taken into account," he told the Associated Press news agency. |
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 had so far served. | |
The compensation deal agreed by the parents of the infected children is reportedly worth $1m (£500,000) per child. | The compensation deal agreed by the parents of the infected children is reportedly worth $1m (£500,000) per child. |
The payout is reportedly coming from an international fund which the Libyan government, the European Union and other organisations are contributing to. | The payout is reportedly coming from an international fund which the Libyan government, the European Union and other organisations are contributing to. |
'Poor hygiene' | 'Poor hygiene' |
The medics were convicted of deliberately injecting 438 children with HIV-tainted blood. Fifty-six of them have since died. | The medics were convicted of deliberately injecting 438 children with HIV-tainted blood. Fifty-six of them have since died. |
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 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. | 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. | 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 medics could carry a diplomatic price for Col Gaddafi, who has been seeking to emerge from more than three decades of diplomatic isolation. | |
The Palestinian doctor was granted Bulgarian citizenship to allow him to benefit from any transfer deal. |