Libya 'to free' medics despite death sentence

LIBYA:Libya's Supreme Court upheld death sentences yesterday for six foreign medics accused of infecting more than 400 children with HIV-infected blood, in a verdict politicians and experts said opened the way for a political and financial deal to free them.

The ruling was delivered just hours after a charity run by the son of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gadafy said it had reached an agreement with relatives of infected children that would "resolve the case" of the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor.

Negotiators from the European Union and Bulgaria have been locked in talks to secure the release of the medics after eight years in jail, in return for a financial package to pay for treatment of the children.

Their families also want millions of euro in compensation - a move Bulgaria opposes because it would imply the guilt of its nurses, who deny all wrongdoing and are supported by international HIV experts who blame poor hospital hygiene for the outbreak.

The medics' final appeal was rejected in a five-minute hearing that now allows the government-controlled High Judicial Council to rule on the case next Monday.

That scenario lets Libya save face while allowing Col Gadafy to make a public show of clemency by freeing the prisoners, a move he hopes will improve Tripoli's ties with Brussels and Washington.

"The court's decision was expected," said Bulgarian prime minister Sergei Stanishev. "The announcement that the High Judicial Council will meet on Monday is a positive development. It will pave the way to a political solution." European Commission president Jose Barroso said of the court ruling: "We regret that these decisions have been taken, but I'd also like to express my confidence that a solution will be found."

Late on Tuesday, the Gadafy Foundation said it had finally brokered a deal. "An agreement has been reached between the Gadafy Foundation and the families of the infected children that would resolve the case of the nurses and the doctor," the charity said in a statement.

"This accord satisfies all the parties and puts an end to the crisis. The details will be announced later."

At the US State Department, spokesman Tom Casey said he could not confirm a deal had been reached. "We would welcome any agreement," he said. "It is time for these people to be able to return home to their families."

The medics' imprisonment and alleged torture has hampered Col Gadafy's drive to strengthen relations with the EU and US, but he has been unable to free them without exposing his country's medical and judicial systems to ridicule and infuriating the victims' relatives.

He is also believed to want to recoup some of the $2.7 billion (€2 billion) compensation Libya paid to relatives of passengers killed in the 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, and to win release of the agent jailed in Scotland for the attack.