Libyan court upholds HIV death sentences
Friday, 13 July 2007
If the Libyan Government fails to grant prerogative of mercy to the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of injecting more than 400 Libyan children with HIV in 1998, they could be heading for the hangmen's noose as the country's Supreme Court has sealed their case.
Yesterday, Libya's apex court upheld the death sentences imposed on these medical practitioners and also rejected the results of a 2003 investigation by two of the world's leading AIDS experts. They had claimed that "unsanitary" medical conditions at Benghazi Children's Hospital were to blame for the children becoming infected with HIV. The nurses and doctor have been in jail now for nearly a decade.
But the fate of the convicts remained uncertain yesterday, despite the court's ruling on the one hand, and months of recent negotiations to secure their release on the other.
The Supreme Judicial Council, a reputable legal organisation in Libya, is scheduled to meet next Monday, and has the power to overturn yesterday's ruling or reduce the sentences for the six.
The European Union (EU) and the United States have repeatedly pressed the Libyan government to free the six, and groups of Nobel Laureates have visited Tripoli to plead their case with the Libyan leader, Moammar Ghaddafi.
The decision generated stern reaction, leaving leaders of the EU in disappointment and dismay owing to the high-level negotiation going on to save the convicts from the noose of Libyan hangman.
Yesterday, Libya's apex court upheld the death sentences imposed on these medical practitioners and also rejected the results of a 2003 investigation by two of the world's leading AIDS experts. They had claimed that "unsanitary" medical conditions at Benghazi Children's Hospital were to blame for the children becoming infected with HIV. The nurses and doctor have been in jail now for nearly a decade.
But the fate of the convicts remained uncertain yesterday, despite the court's ruling on the one hand, and months of recent negotiations to secure their release on the other.
The Supreme Judicial Council, a reputable legal organisation in Libya, is scheduled to meet next Monday, and has the power to overturn yesterday's ruling or reduce the sentences for the six.
The European Union (EU) and the United States have repeatedly pressed the Libyan government to free the six, and groups of Nobel Laureates have visited Tripoli to plead their case with the Libyan leader, Moammar Ghaddafi.
The decision generated stern reaction, leaving leaders of the EU in disappointment and dismay owing to the high-level negotiation going on to save the convicts from the noose of Libyan hangman.