Externe

By Lamine Ghanmi
43 minutes ago



A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death on Tuesday for deliberately infecting hundreds of children with the virus that causes AIDS, provoking a chorus of Western condemnation.

The ruling in a deeply politicized case could set back oil producer Libya's hopes of better ties with the West, which meant a deal that saves the six from execution was still likely, analysts said.

The children's relatives broke down in tears and hailed the ruling that ended a seven-month retrial as a welcome act of defiance of the West.

"Justice has been done. We are happy," said Subhy Abdullah, whose daughter Mona, 7, died from AIDS contracted at the hospital in the town of Benghazi where the medics worked.

"They should be executed quickly."

The six deny infecting 426 children, more than 50 of whom have since died, with HIV at the hospital in the late 1990s.

The defendants' main lawyer said they planned to appeal to the Supreme Court against their latest conviction, which some analysts say Libya may use to strengthen its hand as it seeks foreign financial compensation in order to placate the families.

Libya said the fate of six might end up in the hands of a body senior to the Supreme Court, a so-called high judicial council which is led by Justice Minister Ali Omar Hassnaoui.

"Whatever the verdict of the Supreme Court, the defendant has a chance before the high council," Hassnaoui said.

The six were first found guilty in a 2004 trial and sentenced to death by firing squad.

But the Supreme Court quashed the ruling last year, citing unspecified failings in the case, and ordered a retrial.

"I am so sick I had to take pills today to go through this new ordeal," said Zorka Anachkova, mother of convicted nurse Christiana Valcheva. "We are all heart-broken. Can someone tell me what evil Christiana has ever done?"

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reason to free the six eventually, analysts say, because the case has slowed Tripoli's rapprochement with the West after decades of isolation.

This moved up a gear when Libya abandoned its pursuit of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in 2003.

CHORUS OF CRITICISM

Bulgaria, the European Union which it joins next month, and Amnesty International were among swift critics of the verdict.

Washington said it was disappointed by it.

The International Council of Nurses and World Medical Association said the ruling turned a blind eye to evidence -- including from Luc Montagnier, a French doctor who first detected the HIV virus -- that the children were infected well before the medics arrived in Benghazi in 1998.

"How many children will go on dying in Libyan hospitals while the government ignores the root of the problem?" they said in a joint statement.

Some Western scientists say negligence and poor hospital hygiene are the real culprits and the six are scapegoats.

Analysts say the case is embroiled in power politics and a solution could take many more months, with Libya keeping the six as bargaining chips until talks yield a payout.

Tripoli has demanded 10 million euros ($13.11 million) for each infected child's family. Bulgaria and its allies reject this, saying it would admit guilt, but have offered a fund for treatment at European hospitals for the children.

"Now the real negotiations will begin, to find a way of either arranging compensation for the families of the infected children, or a pardon for the nurses," said George Joffe, a North Africa expert at Cambridge University.

Saad Djebbar, a London-based Algerian lawyer and Libya expert, predicted the six would win reduced sentences taking into account the seven years they have spent in detention.

DEFIANCE OF WEST

Judge Mahmoud Haouissa did not say how the six should be executed but Libya's preferred method is firing squad.

Referring to Gaddafi, relatives of the children shouted: "Go ahead, our falcon, in defiance of the West."

Families say the infections are part of a Western attempt to undermine Muslims in general and Libya in particular.

The six sat calmly as the verdicts were read. "The verdicts will change nothing. we are innocent," the Palestinian doctor, Ashraf Alhajouj, told Reuters from behind the bars of the dock.

(Additional reporting by Reuters in Sofia, Brussels)

daca tot te-ai trezit din hibernare ca sa bei o cana cu apa,
puteai sa copy&paste un articolas mai mititel,ca altfel,
iti fuge somnu' definitiv si ie pacat,ca pana la primavara,
mai ie cateva luni bune.ce are organu' cu prefectura?

La 2006-12-19 19:05:42, Mos Grigore a scris:

>
>
> By Lamine Ghanmi
> 43 minutes ago
>
>
>
> A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian
> doctor to death on Tuesday for deliberately infecting hundreds of
> children with the virus that causes AIDS, provoking a chorus of
> Western condemnation.
>
> The ruling in a deeply politicized case could set back oil producer
> Libya's hopes of better ties with the West, which meant a deal that
> saves the six from execution was still likely, analysts said.
>
> The children's relatives broke down in tears and hailed the ruling
> that ended a seven-month retrial as a welcome act of defiance of the
> West.
>
> "Justice has been done. We are happy," said Subhy Abdullah, whose
> daughter Mona, 7, died from AIDS contracted at the hospital in the
> town of Benghazi where the medics worked.
>
> "They should be executed quickly."
>
> The six deny infecting 426 children, more than 50 of whom have since
> died, with HIV at the hospital in the late 1990s.
>
> The defendants' main lawyer said they planned to appeal to the Supreme
> Court against their latest conviction, which some analysts say Libya
> may use to strengthen its hand as it seeks foreign financial
> compensation in order to placate the families.
>
> Libya said the fate of six might end up in the hands of a body senior
> to the Supreme Court, a so-called high judicial council which is led
> by Justice Minister Ali Omar Hassnaoui.
>
> "Whatever the verdict of the Supreme Court, the defendant has a chance
> before the high council," Hassnaoui said.
>
> The six were first found guilty in a 2004 trial and sentenced to death
> by firing squad.
>
> But the Supreme Court quashed the ruling last year, citing unspecified
> failings in the case, and ordered a retrial.
>
> "I am so sick I had to take pills today to go through this new
> ordeal," said Zorka Anachkova, mother of convicted nurse Christiana
> Valcheva. "We are all heart-broken. Can someone tell me what evil
> Christiana has ever done?"
>
> Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reason to free the six eventually,
> analysts say, because the case has slowed Tripoli's rapprochement with
> the West after decades of isolation.
>
> This moved up a gear when Libya abandoned its pursuit of nuclear,
> chemical and biological weapons in 2003.
>
> CHORUS OF CRITICISM
>
> Bulgaria, the European Union which it joins next month, and Amnesty
> International were among swift critics of the verdict.
>
> Washington said it was disappointed by it.
>
> The International Council of Nurses and World Medical Association said
> the ruling turned a blind eye to evidence -- including from Luc
> Montagnier, a French doctor who first detected the HIV virus -- that
> the children were infected well before the medics arrived in Benghazi
> in 1998.
>
> "How many children will go on dying in Libyan hospitals while the
> government ignores the root of the problem?" they said in a joint
> statement.
>
> Some Western scientists say negligence and poor hospital hygiene are
> the real culprits and the six are scapegoats.
>
> Analysts say the case is embroiled in power politics and a solution
> could take many more months, with Libya keeping the six as bargaining
> chips until talks yield a payout.
>
> Tripoli has demanded 10 million euros ($13.11 million) for each
> infected child's family. Bulgaria and its allies reject this, saying
> it would admit guilt, but have offered a fund for treatment at
> European hospitals for the children.
>
> "Now the real negotiations will begin, to find a way of either
> arranging compensation for the families of the infected children, or a
> pardon for the nurses," said George Joffe, a North Africa expert at
> Cambridge University.
>
> Saad Djebbar, a London-based Algerian lawyer and Libya expert,
> predicted the six would win reduced sentences taking into account the
> seven years they have spent in detention.
>
> DEFIANCE OF WEST
>
> Judge Mahmoud Haouissa did not say how the six should be executed but
> Libya's preferred method is firing squad.
>
> Referring to Gaddafi, relatives of the children shouted: "Go ahead,
> our falcon, in defiance of the West."
>
> Families say the infections are part of a Western attempt to undermine
> Muslims in general and Libya in particular.
>
> The six sat calmly as the verdicts were read. "The verdicts will
> change nothing. we are innocent," the Palestinian doctor, Ashraf
> Alhajouj, told Reuters from behind the bars of the dock.
>
> (Additional reporting by Reuters in Sofia, Brussels)
>
>
>

Poate altii vor tot textul, doar nu e dedicat persoanei tale. E pe toate ag. de presa, uite si pe bloguri, e pe prima pagina !

La 2006-12-19 19:49:17, George W. Bush a scris:

> daca tot te-ai trezit din hibernare ca sa bei o cana cu apa, puteai sa copy&paste un articolas mai mititel,ca altfel, iti fuge somnu' definitiv si ie pacat,ca pana la primavara, mai ie cateva luni bune.ce are organu' cu prefectura?
----------------------------
La 2006-12-19 19:05:42, Mos Grigore a scris:

By Lamine Ghanmi
43 minutes ago

A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death on Tuesday for deliberately infecting hundreds of children with the virus that causes AIDS, provoking a chorus of Western condemnation.

The ruling in a deeply politicized case could set back oil producer Libya's hopes of better ties with the West, which meant a deal that saves the six from execution was still likely, analysts said.

The children's relatives broke down in tears and hailed the ruling that ended a seven-month retrial as a welcome act of defiance of the West.

"Justice has been done. We are happy," said Subhy Abdullah, whose daughter Mona, 7, died from AIDS contracted at the hospital in the town of Benghazi where the medics worked.

"They should be executed quickly."

The six deny infecting 426 children, more than 50 of whom have since died, with HIV at the hospital in the late 1990s.

The defendants' main lawyer said they planned to appeal to the Supreme Court against their latest conviction, which some analysts say Libya may use to strengthen its hand as it seeks foreign financial compensation in order to placate the families.

Libya said the fate of six might end up in the hands of a body senior to the Supreme Court, a so-called high judicial council which is led by Justice Minister Ali Omar Hassnaoui.

"Whatever the verdict of the Supreme Court, the defendant has a chance before the high council," Hassnaoui said.

The six were first found guilty in a 2004 trial and sentenced to death by firing squad.

But the Supreme Court quashed the ruling last year, citing unspecified failings in the case, and ordered a retrial.

"I am so sick I had to take pills today to go through this new ordeal," said Zorka Anachkova, mother of convicted nurse Christiana Valcheva. "We are all heart-broken. Can someone tell me what evil Christiana has ever done?"

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reason to free the six eventually, analysts say, because the case has slowed Tripoli's rapprochement with the West after decades of isolation.

This moved up a gear when Libya abandoned its pursuit of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in 2003.

CHORUS OF CRITICISM

Bulgaria, the European Union which it joins next month, and Amnesty International were among swift critics of the verdict.

Washington said it was disappointed by it.

The International Council of Nurses and World Medical Association said the ruling turned a blind eye to evidence -- including from Luc Montagnier, a French doctor who first detected the HIV virus -- that the children were infected well before the medics arrived in Benghazi in 1998.

"How many children will go on dying in Libyan hospitals while the government ignores the root of the problem?" they said in a joint statement.

Some Western scientists say negligence and poor hospital hygiene are the real culprits and the six are scapegoats.

Analysts say the case is embroiled in power politics and a solution could take many more months, with Libya keeping the six as bargaining chips until talks yield a payout.

Tripoli has demanded 10 million euros ($13.11 million) for each infected child's family. Bulgaria and its allies reject this, saying it would admit guilt, but have offered a fund for treatment at European hospitals for the children.

"Now the real negotiations will begin, to find a way of either arranging compensation for the families of the infected children, or a pardon for the nurses," said George Joffe, a North Africa expert at Cambridge University.

Saad Djebbar, a London-based Algerian lawyer and Libya expert, predicted the six would win reduced sentences taking into account the seven years they have spent in detention.

DEFIANCE OF WEST

Judge Mahmoud Haouissa did not say how the six should be executed but Libya's preferred method is firing squad.

Referring to Gaddafi, relatives of the children shouted: "Go ahead, our falcon, in defiance of the West."

Families say the infections are part of a Western attempt to undermine Muslims in general and Libya in particular.

The six sat calmly as the verdicts were read. "The verdicts will change nothing. we are innocent," the Palestinian doctor, Ashraf Alhajouj, told Reuters from behind the bars of the dock.

(Additional reporting by Reuters in Sofia, Brussels)