Libyans burnt the American flag in Benghazi
Libya-USA, Politics, 5/10/2004

Hundreds of Libyans organized demonstrations in the streets of the Libyan coastal city of Benghazi during which they burnt the American flag in retaliation to the American criticism over Libyan court death penalty sentence against 6 foreigners working in the medical field that caused the infection of hundreds of Libyan children with HIV virus.

The demonstrators, most of them are from families of the infected children, raised pictures of the Libyan children who were infected by the disease in the city's hospital side by side with prisoners of the Iraqi prisoners who were abused and tortured in Abu Ghrib prison in Baghdad, deploring the American position towards violations committee against the Libyan children and the Iraqi prisoners.

The Libyan police did not interfere as the protesters were burning the American flag in front of the Italian Consulate which supervises the interests of the American consulate in Benghazi.

On Thursday, Benghazi court issued a death penalty against five Bulgarian women nurses and one Palestinian doctor over their deliberate contributions to infecting 426 children with HIV virus. A matter which pushed Bulgaria to appeal against this sentence while the US Department Of State described the sentence as unacceptable.

However, an official at the Libyan foreign ministry said yesterday that the US has no right to criticize the sentence of the Libyan court after the scandal of abusing the Iraqi prisoners. The European Union also condemned the execution sentence. A matter which raised predictions in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia that the Libyan leader Muammar al-Qathafi who seeks to maintain relations with the west might issue a pardon for the nurses.

More than 40 AIDS infected children died since the nurses were detained for the first time in 1999. The nurses said that they were found guilty by the court at confessions made by two of them after they were tortured.

Previous Stories:
  Europe condemns execution sentences in the AIDS case in Libya: Six Bulgarians, one Palestinian   (5/7/2004)
  Powell: Libya is no longer a terrorism sponsoring country; denies to have thought of resignation over Iraq   (4/28/2004)
  Libya asks for chopping it from the American terrorism list   (4/28/2004)
  Libya welcomes the alleviation of American sanctions against it   (4/24/2004)

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