The trial against the Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian doctor in Libya is the prosecution by Libya of the Benghazi six, five Bulgarian nurses (Kristiyana Valtcheva, Nasya Nenova, Valentina Siropulo, Valya Chervenyashka and Snezhana Dimitrova) as well as one Palestinian doctor (Ashraf al-Hajuj, also al-Hadjudj), who have been convicted of causing an HIV epidemic among hundreds of children in a Benghazi hospital. The international community and medical authorities widely agree that the infections were caused by poor hygiene and the accused are scapegoats, or that Libya is cynically using them as a bargaining chip. A nurse comforting a patient A nurse is a health care professional, who is engaged in the practice of nursing. ... The term Palestine may refer to: Palestine: A geographical region in the Middle East, centered on Jerusalem. ... HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the human immune system. ... An epidemic is generally a widespread disease that affects many individuals in a population. ... Benghazi is a seaport in Libya, Africa. ... Hygiene is the maintenance of healthful practices. ... The scapegoat was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. ...

The accused were charged with:

• committing actions on the territory of Libya which led to uncontrolled killing of people in an attempt on the state's security (punishable with death)
• participating in a conspiracy and team negotiation for commission of a murder;
• causing an epidemic through injecting 393 children with HIV in the children’s hospital Al-Fatih in Benghazi (punishable with death);
• acting contrary to Libyan standards and traditions (including usage of alcohol)

The nurses and Ashraf al-Hadjudj arrived in Libya in 1998 to treat pediatric patients. Initially 23 foreign medical personnel were arrested, most Bulgarian, but the others were released and have returned to Bulgaria. Additionally, 11 Libyan nationals were arrested and charged. A Bulgarian, doctor Zdravko Georgiev, was also convicted, although of lesser crimes (illegal transactions with foreign exchange). Dr. Georgiev went to Libya to see his wife (Valtcheva); subsequently he was detained and tried, too. Georgiev was sentenced to 4 years in prison, and served more than that before release, but remains in Libya awaiting for an exit visa. An epidemic is generally a widespread disease that affects many individuals in a population. ... Injection has multiple meanings: In mathematics, the term injection refers to an injective function. ... HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the human immune system. ... Benghazi is a seaport in Libya, Africa. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Cases

Case 44/1999 of People's Court of Libya

(February 7, 2000 - February 17, 2002) February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The case began without Bulgaria being notified. It was suspended because the Court did not see any evidence for the accusation of conspiracy against the country. The judge made a statement saying that the People's Court of Libya was incompetent with regard to the case. The People's Court of Libya is the lowest court in the three-level Libyan court system. Alternate uses: See Conspiracy (disambiguation) Conspiracy, in common usage, is the act of working in secret to obtain some goal, usually understood with negative connotations. ...

• The confessions of part of the medics and the contention of the Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi that the accused worked as CIA and Mossad agents are considered to be the basis of the case.
• The Bulgarian medics declared during the case that the confessions were obtained through torture. Qaddafi's thesis was rejected as absurd by both the international press and the experts.
• A few months after the beginning of the case, lawyers Vladimir Sheitanov and Osman Bizanti appealed to the court demanding that the detention measure be altered because of the Bulgarians' physical and mental state. Sheitanov said that the almost 2 year preliminary detention was incompatible with the principle of "innocent until guilty proven".
• The Libyan officers who obtained confessions from the medics admitted that the medics had been tortured into confessing.

Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qaddafi 1 (Arabic: معمر القذافي Mu`ammar al-Qadhdhāfī) (born 1942), has been the leader of Libya since 1969. ... CIA, see CIA (disambiguation). ... Ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim (Hebrew: המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks) is an Israeli intelligence agency, commonly referred to as Mossad. ... The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was a famous torture device Torture is the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain as an expression of cruelty, a means of intimidation, deterrent or punishment, or as a tool for the extraction of information or confessions. ...

Case 213/2002 of the Criminal Court in Benghazi

(July 8, 2003 - 2004) Benghazi is a seaport in Libya, Africa. ... July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 176 days remaining. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Libya withdrew its accusation of participation in a CIA/Mossad conspiracy and made new accusations of illegal drug experiments and of contamination with HIV mutations.

• In a court session, two experts, Luc Montagnier (discoverer of the HIV virus) and Vittorio Colizzi, said that the epidemic at Al-Fatih resulted from poor hygiene and that the infection began spreading in 1997, a year before the accused started working there.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the human immune system. ... Luc Montagnier (born 1932) is a French virologist. ... HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the human immune system. ... Professor Vittorio Colizzi is an Italian virologist and one of the most eminent HIV/AIDS researchers in Europe. ... Hygiene is the maintenance of healthful practices. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ...

Case 607/2003 of the Criminal Court in Benghazi

(200? - May 6, 2004) May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Criminal Court sentenced Kristiyana Valtcheva, Nasya Nenova, Valentina Siropulo, Valya Chervenyashka, Snezhana Dimitrova and Ashraf al-Hajuj to death by firing squad for deliberately infecting more than 400 Libyan children with HIV. Kristiyana Valtcheva and Zdravko Georgiev were sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment and a fine on the charge of making illegal transactions with foreign exchange. Under the civil suit, the court obliged Ashraf al-Hajuj, Kristiyana Valtcheva and Nasya Nenova to pay compensations to the infected children's parents. Motivated complaints against the court's decision were lodged on July 5, 2004. July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• In January 2004, the European Union recommended that Libya withdraw its charges. The letter was delivered by the ambassadors of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
• Amnesty International, the American Department of State, and other state and international organizations expressed their concern with the course of the trial.
• The Government of Bulgaria, which lobbied for the release of the defendants, defined the verdict as unjust and absurd.

Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization, the stated purpose of which is to promote all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ...

Case of the Supreme Court in Tripoli

The Libyan Supreme Court heard the appeal of the cases beginning on March 29, 2005. On March 30, prosecutors urged the court to revoke the death sentences and remand the case to the lower courts for retrial. Under Libyan law, the court cannot accept any new evidence, although the Bulgarian party argued that there had been wrongly interpreted evidence during the court sessions so far. The judgment was to have been handed down on May 31st, 2005, but was postponed (with no reason given) until November 15, 2005 - during the six month delay, the medics were to be allowed an extra room and daily walks. March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (89th in Leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in Leap years). ... May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Counter-trial of police

In an apparent bid to relax criticism of Libya, authorities arrested 10 policemen and charged them with torture of the accused nurses and doctor in order to extract confessions. Lawyers for the accused medical personnel have asked for 5 million Libyan dinars as compensation. Much of the evidence is based on medical reports prepared by authorities from Bulgaria. All of the policemen deny the charges, and none of them is jailed. After three procedural delays, their trial reportedly was to begin on May 11, 2005. The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was a famous torture device Torture is the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain as an expression of cruelty, a means of intimidation, deterrent or punishment, or as a tool for the extraction of information or confessions. ... In criminal proceedings, a confession is a document in which a suspect admits having committed a crime. ... A five-dinar note featuring Saddam Hussein The word Dinar (in Arabic and Persian: دينار) traces its origin back to the Roman currency, the denarius (pl. ... May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Foreign policy repercussions

On April 12, 2005, reports surfaced that Libya was considering a trade embargo with Bulgaria for what the Libyan government termed Bulgaria's failure to prevent the HIV outbreak. Although the case has resulted in tense diplomatic negotiations in the past, this move is considered an unexpected escalation by Libya. April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Although he concurs with the guilty verdict, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi has proposed releasing the medics if the Pan Am Flight 103 bomber held in Britain is released and $5.7 billion compensation is paid to Libya for the care of the HIV-infected patients. Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qaddafi 1 (Arabic: معمر القذافي Mu`ammar al-Qadhdhāfī) (born 1942), has been the leader of Libya since 1969. ... The nose, containing the flight crew and first-class section, landed in a farmers field near a tiny church in Tundergarth, Scotland Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan Ams daily Frankfurt-London-New York-Detroit evening flight. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

External links

• The Trial in Libya (http://www.bta.bg/site/libya/index-e.html) - overview from the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA)
• Quiet diplomacy is not enough (http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7462/409), an article by the British Medical Journal.
• Letter from Luc Montagnier to Muammar al-Qaddafi after the death sentence (http://titan.medhyg.ch/mh/infos/article.php3?sid=1434) (original, in French)
• Interview with the professor Luc Montagnier (http://www.jeuneafrique.com/gabarits/articleJAI_online.asp?art_cle=LIN16054lucmoelletn0) (in French)
• European parliament report on human rights in Libya (http://www.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/afet/20020909/472918fr.pdf) (in French, PDF format, 32 KB)
• Amnesty International report on human rights in Libya (http://web.amnesty.org/report2004/lby-summary-eng)
• Physicians for Human Rights campaign (http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/action_alerts/libya.html) - lobbying on behalf of the accused
• The Bulgarian Medics Solidarity Project (http://www.nishand.org/) - activist group in Britain lobbying to free the accused