Posted on 05/06/2004 5:15:26 AM PDT by Happy2BMe
Libya sentences medics to firing squad
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A Libyan court has sentenced six Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian doctor to death by firing squad for deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with the deadly HIV virus, court officials say. Bulgaria condemned the "unfair and absurd" verdicts and called for a strong reaction from its Western partners -- the European Union, NATO and the United States. Defence lawyers said they would appeal the sentences. The medics had pleaded not guilty, insisting they were not to blame for the epidemic. Scores of relatives of the HIV-infected children took to the streets near the court building in a joyful display. The health workers, detained in early 1999, were convicted of infecting 426 Libyan children at a Benghazi hospital with blood products contaminated with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Bulgarians had expected some leniency after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's recent efforts to renew ties with the West. "I'm shocked by the verdicts. The government's official position is that we're not going to accept them. Such verdicts are unfair and without grounds," Bulgarian Justice Minister Anton Stankov said in Sofia. In contrast, relatives of the infected children were happy. "The verdict is fair. What they did is a crime against humanity. They planted a bomb inside our children," said Ramdane Ali Mohamed, whose little sister Hiba died of AIDS. More than 40 of the children have died since 1999, adding to already heated emotions in both countries over the case. The issue gained greater attention in recent weeks as Libya emerged from international isolation after scrapping its nuclear and chemical arms programme in December. "We expect a strong reaction from all our partners, especially the European Union, the United States and NATO, who have all put forth efforts to ensure a fair trial," Stankov said. Families of the medics were stunned and were not willing to talk to the media. But Parliament Speaker Ognyan Gerdzhikov said he was confident the death sentences would not be carried out. "First, they can be appealed. Secondly, Libya has not executed death sentences in nine years, and I'd be very surprised if they start now. Thirdly, I expect Gaddafi to act like a humanist to win certain political credit, which he needs from world public opinion," he told national radio. "ABSURD" VERDICT The dispute with EU candidate Bulgaria was raised during Gaddafi's ground-breaking visit to the EU last week. European Commission President Romano Prodi said then he hoped a "quick and fair settlement" could be found. Bulgarian media had speculated that if the Bulgarians were sentenced to death, Gaddafi might pardon them as part of his efforts to improve relations with Europe. "It a shocking verdict. My clients expected to be convicted for dereliction of duty and sentenced to prison terms not death," defence lawyer Othmane Bizanti told Reuters, adding that the defendants had 60 days to lodge an appeal. Last year Luc Montagnier, the French doctor credited with first discovering the HIV virus, said the epidemic emerged in the hospital in 1997, a year before the medics arrived, probably due to unsanitary conditions. "Libyan authorities did not want to reach the truth about the epidemic, and I continue to stress that the Bulgarians are not to blame," Stankov said.
Thu 6 May, 2004 12:34
By Salah Sarrar
Cheap shot. LOL.
That is what I was thinking. Don't know if they did this or not. But if they did, the death penalty sound fair to me. In fact I think their getting off easy. Their impending deaths don't sound painful enough to me.
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