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Bulgarian Nurses Appeal Libyan Sentence
TRIPLOLI, Libya - Five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya for infecting hundreds of children with the virus t hat causes AIDS have appealed their convictions, their attorney said Sunday. Othman Bizanti said he lodged the appeal Saturday at the court where they had been tried for deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV at a hospital in Benghazi. Fifty-two of the infected children have died of AIDS. In Libya, an execution verdict is automatically referred to a higher court, but defense lawyers have 60 days to submit arguments for an appeal. The nurses and one Palestinian doctor have been incarcerated since 1999. They were sentenced to death twice - in 2004 and again in 2006, following a court appeal. A lawyer for the Palestinian doctor lodged an appeal last week. The European Union and the United States have long pressed for the six to be released and have offered financial support for the treatment of the HIV-infected children. Libya has asked for financial compensation for each of the families of victims, suggesting the death sentences could be commuted in return. Bulgaria has rejected the proposal, saying any payment would be seen as an admission of guilt. Several European studies have suggested that the HIV-AIDS virus was present at the Benghazi hospital before the nurses began working there. Bizanti said he expected the Supreme Court to rule by mid-May. Following that, the Supreme Judiciary Council has the final say in the case.