Sofia doubts Libyan sentence on officers' not guilty of torturing nurses
Libya-Bulgaria, Politics, 6/8/2005

The Bulgarian government doubted the efficacy of the Libyan judiciary after three Libyan policemen were found not guilty of torturing Bulgarian nurses. The nurses alleged that they were tortured to make confessions in the case of injecting Libyan children of HIV virus.

The Bulgarian deputy foreign minister Jerjana Jransharouna described the decision as frustrating and raises questions on the efficiency of the Libyan regime, though the verdict is not final.

For its part, the European Union described the death penalty against the Bulgarian nurses as a main obstacles in the face of the Libyan leader towards renewing relations with the west.

The Libyan sentence not to find the police officers guilty, came after a Libyan court in 2004 sentenced to death five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor for their deliberate transmission of HIV virus to 426 Libyan children in a hospital in Eastern Benghazi city.

The Libyan supreme court is due in November to issue the final sentence in the accusations addressed against the nurses. At the support of the European Union, Bulgaria escalated its pressure on Tripoli to abrogate the death sentence.

The Bulgarian president visited Tripoli in May and met with the Libyan leader Mu'ammar al-Qathafi in order to reach a settlement for this case. The Bulgarian president also met with the Bulgarian nurses and inspected the Libyan children infected with the HIV virus.

Previous Stories:
  Libyan court adjourned Bulgarian nurses case sentence   (6/1/2005)
  President of Bulgaria meets Qathafi, Shalqam expects solution for nurses crisis   (5/30/2005)
  Bulgarian president in Libya to discuss fate of AIDS nurses case   (5/28/2005)

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