Ruling Expected Soon in Libyan Trial of Health Care Workers Accused of Deliberately Spreading HIV
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy is scheduled to arrive in Libya this week in time for the expected ruling in the trial of 16 health care workers, including six Bulgarians, who are charged with intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, Reuters reports. According to Bulgarian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Elena Poptodorova, Passy, who was invited to the country by Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Chalgam, is expected to meet with trial observer and Kadafi International Foundation for Charity Associations Chair Seif al-Islam, who is the son of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi. Poptodorova did not say if Passy would attend the trial, which has "stirred deep passions" in Bulgaria. The doctors and nurses on trial have been accused of deliberately infecting 393 Libyan children with HIV as part of a foreign intelligence "conspiracy" against Libya. If the medical personnel are found guilty and sentenced to death, defense lawyers and Bulgarian officials have said they will appeal the decision to the Libyan Supreme Court (Reuters, 12/19).
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