Libya adjourns appeal of Bulgarian nurses in AIDS case
Libya-Bulgaria, Politics, 11/16/2005

The supreme court in Libya adjourned until January 3, 2006 considering the appeal filed by the five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor who were sentenced to death after they were convicted of transferring AIDS/HIV to Libyan children.

The chairman of the court, judge Ali al-Allus, said that adjourning the session came to allow more time for the defense commission to organize its defense and give new evidences.

The chairman of the defense commission for the medical team Othman al-Beizanti said that the decision bewildered him, and that there is no precedent incident for this case in the Libyan judiciary, adding that the supreme court should had confirmed this sentence or ordered a retrial.

The angry relatives of the victims who were waiting outside the court, threw stones at the police. They also prevented European diplomats attending the trial from leaving the court thru the back door. The protestors chanted slogans demanding the execution of what they called the killers of children.

The police cordoned the demonstrators and interfered to protect the attending press and diplomats.

In the first reaction to the decision of postponing a ruling on the appeal to the death penalty of the five Bulgarian nurses, a spokesman for the Bulgarian foreign ministry said that his government hopes that the Libyan court will use the opportunity to consider evidence set by the defense team so as to prove that the nurses are not guilty.

The spokesman refused the idea of giving material compensation to the families of the dead and infected Libyan children in return for releasing the imprisoned nurses.

For its part, the European commission for external affairs considered the postponing the sentence is considered a positive step, stressing confidence in the Libyan judiciary system in order to ensure justice.

The six convicted persons, five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor were sentenced to death by bullets after they were convicted in disseminating the disease deliberately in a hospital in the Benghazi coastal city.

Libya proposed lessening the death penalty if Bulgaria pays compensations for the families of the victims.

Political and diplomatic analysts say that Tripoli may face acts of riots if the nurses are released.

Previous Stories:
  Qathafi's son considers Bulgarian nurses in AIDS case innocent   (11/11/2005)
  Libya calls Bulgaria for direct negotiations with AIDS victims   (8/18/2005)
  Sofia doubts Libyan sentence on officers' not guilty of torturing nurses   (6/8/2005)

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