The Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor in Libya have had their death sentence commuted to life in prison. They were accused of intentionally giving children HIV, despite the lack of scientific proof of the supposed crime. The hospital they worked at had a long history of atrocious sanitation, but Libyan authorities pinned the blame on these foreign workers and extracted confessions through torture and rape. This week, blood money has been paid to the parents of the children and now negotiations are under way to transfer them to Bulgaria. When we were in Sofia, everywhere we went there were ribbons in support of the nurses, on taxis, in windows, on government buildings and on most people's lapels.
4 comments:
i'm sooooooo happy about this news - as are a lot of folk who work in emergency medical aid especially... but did anyone else find it absolutely horrifying how little this hit the media until a year ago? gah! or maybe i just missed it all (also possible)
A life sentence in prison is nothing to be happy about. Have you ever been inside a prison?
It's probably safe to say that neither of us has spent time in a Libyan prison. Obviously prison sucks.
Then again, I'd take it over having my head chopped off in the public square for a crime I didn't commit. Cuz, you know, that sucks more.
Especially when negotiations are under way to transfer them to Bulgaria. The result of those negotiations, as predicted, was a transfer to Sofia and an immediate pardon for all the nurses. Bulgaria extended citizenship to the Palestinian doctor so that he could be a part of the deal with Libya to release them.
Thanks for the update. They won't be in prison in Bulgaria, will they?
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