Libyan Shakedown Continues
It would appear that Libya is still trying to shake down the West for a pile of cash. Remember hearing about those Bulgarian doctors a while ago, who were arrested and put on trial for supposedly infecting Libyan children deliberately with AIDS? Well, it seems that they are entering their final appeal today, and their lives are in grave danger:
It's still a travesty of justice, and the European Union's silence on the matter is deafening. Apparently, the official position of the Toy Parliament is that Europeans anywhere should have no expectation of defence, should they have the audacity to travel beyond European borders.
Libya's Supreme Court says it will rule on 11 July on the final appeal of six foreign medical workers condemned for infecting 438 children with HIV.Libyan extortion.
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor say they are innocent of giving tainted blood to the children.
The court is expected to uphold their death sentences but may leave a final decision to the High Judicial Council.
The sentences may be commuted in exchange for a compensation package for the children's families.
Fifty-six of the 438 children given tainted blood at the Benghazi hospital in 1998 have since died.
Outside the Tripoli courtroom, relatives of children who were infected with the virus gathered, with many parents holding images of their sons and daughters.
It's still a travesty of justice, and the European Union's silence on the matter is deafening. Apparently, the official position of the Toy Parliament is that Europeans anywhere should have no expectation of defence, should they have the audacity to travel beyond European borders.
A Palestinian doctor accused of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV stands behind bars in a court in Tripoli in this June 13, 2006 file photo. The Libyan Supreme Court began hearing an appeal on June 20, 2007 by six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with HIV in the final stage of a trial that has affected Libya's ties with the West. The five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor were convicted in December of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV in highly politicised proceedings that have slowed attempts by OPEC-member Libya to end its long international isolation. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi/File (LIBYA)
A Bulgarian nurse accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV stands behind bars in a court in Tripoli in this June 13, 2006 file photo. The Libyan Supreme Court began hearing an appeal on June 20, 2007 by six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with HIV in the final stage of a trial that has affected Libya's ties with the West. The five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor were convicted in December of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV in highly politicised proceedings that have slowed attempts by OPEC-member Libya to end its long international isolation. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi/File (LIBYA)
A Libyan security guard stands in front of Bulgarian nurse Nasia Nenova (C) and a co-defendant during their trial at the Libyan Supreme Court in Tripoli, 13 June 2006. Six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting children with HIV in Libya launch their final appeal on Wednesday, after more than eight years in jail for a crime they say they did not commit(AFP/File/Mahmud Turkia)
More on the infamous Moamar's Amazonian Presidential Guard over here. I've seen far better examples than those posted at BA (heck, see above), but I'll leave it at that for now.
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor -- who face a death sentence for injecting Libyan children with HIV-tainted blood -- attend a court hearing in February 2007. The six foreign medics have launched their final appeal after more than eight years behind bars for a crime they say they did not commit.(AFP/File/Mahmud Turkia)
A Bulgarian nurse accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV stands behind bars in a court in Tripoli in this June 13, 2006 file photo. The Libyan Supreme Court began hearing an appeal on June 20, 2007 by six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with HIV in the final stage of a trial that has affected Libya's ties with the West. The five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor were convicted in December of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV in highly politicised proceedings that have slowed attempts by OPEC-member Libya to end its long international isolation. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi/File (LIBYA)
A Palestinian doctor (L) and Bulgarian nurses accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV stand behind bars in a court in Tripoli in this June 13, 2006 file photo. The Libyan Supreme Court began hearing an appeal on June 20, 2007 by six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with HIV in the final stage of a trial that has affected Libya's ties with the West. The five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor were convicted in December of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV in highly politicised proceedings that have slowed attempts by OPEC-member Libya to end its long international isolation. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi/File (LIBYA)
Bulgarian nurses Nasya Nenova (L) and Valentina Siropoulo (R) wait for the verdict with Palestinian doctor Ashraf Alhajouj in a court in Tripoli December 19, 2006. Libya's Supreme Court will rule on July 11 on an appeal by six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with HIV, its top judge said. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante
Bulgaria said Tuesday it has granted citizenship to Ashraf Juma Hajjuj, the Palestinian doctor on trial in Tripoli along with five Bulgarian nurses for infecting children in Libya with AIDS, sen here in May 2007.(AFP/File/Mahmud Turkia)
Judges of Libya's supreme court listen in Tripoli to arguments during the final appeal of six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with the AIDS virus. Six foreign medics on death row for infecting Libyan children with the AIDS virus launched a final appeal after more than eight years behind bars for a crime they say they did not commit.(AFP/Mahmud Turkia)
Lawyers attend the final appeal of six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with the AIDS virus. Six foreign medics on death row for infecting Libyan children with the AIDS virus launched a final appeal after more than eight years behind bars for a crime they say they did not commit.(AFP/Mahmud Turkia)
Libyan Protest
I'm going to do my best to find pictures of the protest from today. This is the only picture I've seen on today's wires so far, and it's just a re-post of a 2006 photo:
Libyan men hold portraits of children infected with HIV during a final court hearing in Tripoli, 2006. Six foreign medics on death row for infecting Libyan children with the AIDS virus launched a final appeal after more than eight years behind bars for a crime they say they did not commit.(AFP/File/Mahmud Hams)
Bulgarian Protest
Where are Medecins Sans Frontieres on this travesty when you need 'em?
A girl stands behind the Holy Bible with a tee-shirt with a slogan which reads' Freedom for Bulgarian medics in Libya' during a protest in support of the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor sentenced to death in Libya, during a protest in front of Libya's embassy in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, June, 20, 2007. The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor have been in jail since February 1999, accused of deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV at a hospital in Benghazi. The Supreme Cassation Court of Libya is holding Wednesday a hearing on the last appeal of the death sentences of the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)
Bulgarian Rosen Markov unfurls a poster which reads 'INNOCENT' and pictures in support of the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor sentenced to death in Libya, during a protest in front of Libya's embassy in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, June, 20, 2007. The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor have been in jail since February 1999, accused of deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV at a hospital in Benghazi. The Supreme Cassation Court of Libya is holding Wednesday a hearing on the last appeal of the death sentences of the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)
Zorka Anachkova the mother of Kristiana Valcheva one of the five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya, looks at pictures of the nurses during a protest in front of Libya's embassy in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, June, 20, 2007. The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor have been in jail since February 1999, accused of deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV at a hospital in Benghazi. The Supreme Cassation Court of Libya is holding Wednesday a hearing on the last appeal of the death sentences of the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)
Zorka Anachkova the mother of Kristiana Valcheva one of the five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya, attends during a protest in their support in front of Libya's embassy in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, June, 20, 2007. The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor have been in jail since February 1999, accused of deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV at a hospital in Benghazi. The Supreme Cassation Court of Libya is holding Wednesday a hearing on the last appeal of the death sentences of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor.(AP Photo/Petar Petrov)
Zorka Anachkova the mother of Kristiana Valcheva one of the five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya, attends during a protest in their support in front of Libya's embassy in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, June, 20, 2007. The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor have been in jail since February 1999, accused of deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV at a hospital in Benghazi. The Supreme Cassation Court of Libya is holding Wednesday a hearing on the last appeal of the death sentences of the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)
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