LIBYA: A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death for deliberately infecting hundreds of children with the virus that causes AIDS

A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death on Tuesday (December 19) for deliberately infecting hundreds of children with the virus that causes AIDS, provoking a chorus of Western condemnation. The ruling in a deeply politicised case could set back oil producer Libya's hopes of better ties with the West, which meant a deal that saves the six from execution was still likely, analysts said. As people gathered in the courtroom for the sentencing, Palestinian Doctor Ashraf Ahmad Al-Hajoul, protested his innocence and that of the five nurses. "Everything that is being said in the local press is lies. Everything that is being said in this court about us being involved in this case is lies. There is no legal or medical evidence that anyone in their right mind could accept," he said. Judge Mahmoud Haouissa read the sentence to the court. "The court has sentenced the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eleventh (of the accused) in their presence, and the rest of them in absentia. Firstly, regarding the criminal aspect (of the case), the court has decreed that each of Ashraf Ahmad al-Hajoul, Kristiana Malinova Vulcheva, Nasia Stoitcheva Nenova, Valentina Manolova Siropulo, Valia Georgieva Cherveniashka and Snezhana Ivanova Dimitrova should be punished with execution for the crime attributed to them of causing an illness by spreading harmful germs and causing the death of more than one person," he said. But a defence lawyer told reporters that in a fair trial it was necessary to listen to both sides of the argument. "To be fair in a trial you have to listen to (the) prosecution and defence and here it is a medical, scientific issue. I think the justices had to listen to experts from the prosecution but also experts from the defence," said the unidentified lawyer. Outside the court people shouted slogans in support of the court and the sentence. The children's relatives broke down in tears and hailed the ruling that ended a seven-month retrial as a welcome act of defiance of the West. One unidentified woman in a red scarf praised the judgement and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. "My daughter has been suffering with various illnesses for years but this has been the happiest day for me. We congratulate the leader and the judiciary for the sentence on these dogs and criminals who caused us to be destroyed. Thank God. Long live Muammar Gaddafi." And another said, "Today is a feast. May God protect Muammar and his judges. I've got two and my daughter. God has done right by us." Families say the infections are part of a Western attempt to undermine Muslims in general and Libya in particular. The six deny infecting 426 children, more than 50 of whom have since died, with HIV at the hospital in the late 1990s. The defendants' main lawyer said they planned to appeal to the Supreme Court against their latest conviction, which some analysts say Libya may use to strengthen its hand as it seeks foreign financial compensation in order to placate the families. Libya said the fate of six might end up in the hands of a body senior to the Supreme Court, a so-called high judicial council which is led by Justice Minister Ali Omar Hassnaoui. The six were first found guilty in a 2004 trial and sentenced to death by firing squad. But the Supreme Court quashed the ruling last year, citing unspecified failings in the case, and ordered a retrial. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reason to free the six eventually, analysts say, because the case has slowed Tripoli's rapprochement with the West after decades of isolation. This moved up a gear when Libya abandoned its pursuit of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in 2003. Bulgaria, the European Union which it joins next month, and Amnesty International were among swift critics of the verdict. The International Council of Nurses and World Medical Association said the ruling turned a blind eye to evidence -- including from Luc Montagnier, a French doctor who first detected the HIV virus -- that the children were infected well before the medics arrived in Benghazi in 1998. "How many children will go on dying in Libyan hospitals while the government ignores the root of the problem?" they said in a joint statement. Some Western scientists say negligence and poor hospital hygiene are the real culprits and the six are scapegoats. Analysts say the case is embroiled in power politics and a solution could take many more months, with Libya keeping the six as bargaining chips until talks yield a payout. Tripoli has demanded 10 million euros (13.11 million U.S. dollars) for each infected child's family. Bulgaria and its allies reject this, saying it would admit guilt, but have offered a fund for treatment at European hospitals for the children. Saad Djebbar, a London-based Algerian lawyer and Libya expert, predicted the six would win reduced sentences taking into account the seven years they have spent in detention. Judge Mahmoud Haouissa did not say how the six should be executed but Libya's preferred method is firing squad.

ITN Source | December 20, 2006

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