Wikipedia

68.60.68.203

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.60.68.203 (talk) at 11:27, 26 December 2006 (→Headline text). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Latest comment: 18 years ago by 68.60.68.203 in topic LAW ON COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBORING RIGHTS Bulgaria
Learn more about this page

Welcome!

Hello, 68.60.68.203, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome! 

HIV trial in Libya

Latest comment: 18 years ago5 comments3 people in discussion

Hi there, I noticed you are editing HIV trial in Libya and using a bunch of html coding. That is unnecessary on Wikipedia and actually is a bit messy. Whilst we appreciate the effort, when you get a minute you might want to go through the tutorials above to see how we like to do things here! Also if you like editing, why not sign up and log in? Zarboki 09:22, 23 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

Hi, in HIV trial in Libya you've got to cite your sources! A simple <ref>[http://www.someplace.com description]</ref> will work. Simesa 16:33, 23 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

You've recently entered a great deal of new text entered into the sections Case 44/1999 of People's Court of Libya and Case 213/2002 - Case 607/2003 Benghazi Appeals Court. [1] and [2] are given as the sources -- however, my concern is that at least some of this text appears to have been taken verbatim from those webpages. We have to be very careful that we have permission to use quoted text -- an alternative is to rewrite the material in such a way as to be non-violating. (There is an official Wikipedia policy, Wikipedia:Copyright violations, discussing what to do if there actually is a major problem.) Please check what you've added -- we do greatly appreciate your interest in the article and Wikipedia. Simesa 03:24, 24 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

This is a timeline which is a Bulgarian embassy release. I think the want it diseminated. Your point is taken

I had no intention of leaving it as is but it is public ___domain and does not violate any copywrite. Having a factual framework to work from is going to make this a lot easier - like reverse engineering68.60.68.203 03:52, 24 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

Article 4 The following shall not be subject to copyright
1 normative and individual acts of state govening bodies, and the official translations therof.
http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/pdf/en/bg/bg001en.pdf Bulgarian Law on Copyright and Neighboring rights68.60.68.203 04:36, 24 December 2006 (UTC)Reply
Latest comment: 18 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

(PUBLISHED IN STATE GAZETTE NO. 56/29.06.1993) Part One

COPYRIGHT

Chapter One

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Subject Matter Article 1. This Law shall regulate the relations connected with creation and distribution of literary, artistic and scientific works.

Arising of Copyright Article 2. Copyright on literary, artistic and scientific works shall arise for the author upon the creation of the work.

Chapter Two

SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT

Protected Works

Article 3. (1) Subject to copyright is any literary, artistic and scientific work which is a result of creative activities and is expressed in whatever manner and whatever tangible form, such as:

1. literary works, including works of scientific and technical literature, publicism, and computer programs;

2. musical works;

3. stage works - dramatic works, dramatico-musical works, pantomimes, choreographic works etc.;

4. films and other audiovisual works;

5. works of fine arts, including works of applied art, design, and folklore artistic crafts;

6. works of architecture;

7. photographic works, and works created by a process analogous to the photographic;

8. projects, maps, schemes, plans and others related to architecture, territorial lay-out, geography, topography, museum activities, and any other field of science and technics;

9. graphic arrangement of a printed edition.

(2) Subject to copyright shall also be:

1. translations and adaptations of pre-existing works and folklore works;

2. arrangements of musical works and folklore works;

3. periodicals, encyclopaedias, collections, anthologies, bibliographies, data bases, and other works similar to the above, which include two or more works or materials.

(3) Subject to copyright shall also be a part of a work under paragraphs 1 and 2, as well as preparatory drawings, plans and other works of the kind.

Exceptions

Article 4. The following shall not be subject to copyright:

1. normative and individual acts of state governing bodies, and the official translations thereof

2. ideas and concepts;

3. folklore works;

4. news, facts, information and data.

third strike 68.60.68.203 06:28, 24 December 2006 (UTC)Reply


Headline text

The HIV trial in the country of Libya concerns the trials of six foreign medical workers convicted of conspiring to deliberately inject 426 children with the HIV virus, causing an epidemic at El-Fath Children's Hospital in Benghazi. The main defendants were five Bulgarian nurses, and one Palestinian physician. [1] There have been a number of trials, appeals, retrials, convictions and death sentences imposed, reversed and reimposed since the case began in 1999.

The issue has been highly controversial since its inception. It involved the largest incident of hospital-induced (nosocomial) HIV in history.[2] The defendants gave interviews and testified and testified at trial that they were tortured into confessing, and and they repudiated their confessions at trial. [3] [4] [5] This led to charges against 9 Libyans, some of whom also claimed they had been tortured into confessing that they had tortured the others. [6] Geopolitical factors were involved as the initial arrests overlapped negotiations on the impending turnover of the Lockerby bombers. While the first trial was underweigh, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi made a speech at the 2001 African summit on HIV/AIDS about the crisis in Benghazi. He called it "an odious crime" and questioned who was behind it."Some said it was the CIA Others said it was the Mossad Israeli intelligence. They carried out an experiment on these children." [7]

Major controversy errupted in the scientific community when the findings a 2003 report, which Libya had requested, by Luc Montagnier, a co-discoverer of the AIDS virus, and Italian microbiologist Vittorio Colizzi was ultimately rejected by the courts in favor of the conclusions of a Libyan expert panel. Montagnier and Colizzi both testified at the trial of record for the defense .Their report, which had been commisioned by the Libyan Jamahiriya, concluded that the infection at the hospital resulted from poor hygiene and reuse of syringes, and that the infections began before the arrival of the nurses and doctor in 1998. They traced it to a single case, who may have been sick as early as 1994. The first cross contamination probably started when the patient was admitted in 1997. The report, concludes that the admission records of 21 of the children "definitively prove that the HIV infection in the Al-Fateh Hospital was already active in 1997" [8] After the latest conviction 114 Nobel Laureates in the sciences, co-signed an open letter to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi calling for a fair trial.[9] The epidemic snowballed in 1998 to more than 400 children.


On December 19, 2006, all six were pronounced guilty , and were again sentenced to death by firing squad.[10] The case will likely be appealed.[11]

All but one of the nurses were recruited by Bulgarian state-owned company Expomed. With the excepition of soandso began work at the Libyan hospital in February of 1998. A crisis erupted in November that when "La" magazine (issue 78) publishes an expose about AIDS at the hospital. [12] [13] In December the Association of Libyan Writers reported over 60 cases of AIDS so far that year in Libya. "LA" interviews Sulaiman al-Ghemari, Libyan Minister for Health, who tells them most of the cases are children."LA" reports that the parents believe their children were infected through blood transfusion in Benghazi's main children hospital.[14] It will be the last issue of "La", the magazine was shut down but it was eventually revealed that some 450 people, mostly children, had been infected. A WHO team was sent in December and stayed through January of 1999, and issued a classified report.

In February the Bulgarian embassy reported that 23 Bulgarian specialists had been kidnapped. A week later they were informed by Libyan authorities that “precautionary measures” had been taken against Bulgarian doctors and nurses working at the Benghazi Children’s Hospital. A scandel errupted in the wake of the arrests when "24 hours" February 24-th publish an investigation of money laundering at Expomed titled "How we lost $5,048, 292 in Lybia" On March 7, 1999 six members of the group subjected to "precautionary measures" were formally arrested on a warrant in connection with the case of infecting children in Benghazi with HIV. [6]

They are Kristiyana Valtcheva, Nasya Nenova, Valentina Siropulo, Valya Chervenyashka, and Snezhana Dimitrova. Along with Palestinian physician Ashraf al-Hajuj, they were later to become widely known as "the Benghazi Six" a term first promulgated by advocacy groups, and adopted by the popular press. [15]


Almost a year later February 7, 2000, the first trial began, Case No. 44 of 1999 against six Bulgarians, eight Libyans and one Palestinian together with thirteen other colleagues (including nine Libyans) began. The charges were intentionally "murdering with a lethal substance (article 371of the Penal Code), randomly killing with the aim of attacking the security of the State (Article 202), and causing an epidemic through spreading harmful virus, leading to the death of persons (Article 305)". In addition, Bulgarians were accused of acting contrary to Libyan customs and traditions, by engaging in non-marital sexual relations and drinking alcohol in public places, distilling alcohol, and illegally transacting in foreign currency.

[6] [16]

Case history

Arrests

Initially, 23 foreign medical personnel were arrested, mostly Bulgarian, but 17 were released and have returned to Bulgaria. Additionally, 11 Libyan nationals were arrested and charged with the alleged crimes.Doctor Zdravko Georgiev a Bulgarian went to Libya to see his wife (Valtcheva) ; subsequently he was detained and tried on the charge of illegally transacting in foreign currency. The following Libyans were also arrested and tried on non capitol offences : Atia at-Tahir Ali al-Juma (director of the Benghazi hospital), Halifa Milyad Mohammed al-Sherif (head of hospital ward), Abdul Azis Husein Mohammed Shembesh (head of hospital ward), Abdul Menam Ahmed Mohammed al-Sherif (head of hospital ward), Idris Maatuk Mohammed al-Amari, Salim Ibrahim Suleyman Abe Garara, Mansur al-Mansur Saleh al-Mauhub, Nureddin Abdulhamid Halil Dagman, and Saad Musa Suleyman al-Amruni (assistant secretary of the health care sector in Benghazi).

Ashraf al-Haju
Valya Chervenyashka
Snezhana Dimitrova
Nasya Nenova
Valentina Siropulo
Kristiyana Valtcheva
ZDRAVKO GEORGIEV

Police arrested

Libyan authorities arrested nine police officers and a doctor and charged them with torture of the accused Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor in order to extract confessions.CITE NEEDED

Case 44/1999 of People's Court of Libya

NOTICE:

Information about the proceedings within the court during the trials is derived from information compiled by the BULGARIAN NEWS AGENCY [6] which was transcribed into english and made available through the Bulgarian Embassy [17] and is fully credited as such

Under Article 4. Exceptions; of Bulgarian copyright law; The following shall not be subject to copyright:

1. normative and individual acts of state governing bodies, and the official translations thereof

4. news, facts, information and data [18]

(February 7, 2000 – February 17, 2002)

Indiscriminate killing of people for the purpose of subversion of the security of the State, conspiracy and collusion, Causing an epidemic by injecting 393 children the AIDS virus, and premeditated murder also engaging in illicit sexual relationships, drinking alcohol in public places, distilling alcohol, and illegally transacting in foreign currency.

SUMMARY:

THE DEFENDANTS TESTIFY TO TORTURE: THEY DENY THEY ALL KNEW EACH OTHER BEFORE THEIR ARREST: THEY DENY BEING PAID LARGE SUMS OF MONEY TO INFECT THE CHILDREN: LIBYAN DEFENDANTS READ PREPARED STATEMENTS: ATTORNEYS FOR THE BULGARIANS AND THE PALESTINIAN DOCTOR OBJECT TO MINIMAL QUESTIONING OF THE LIBYANS:THE DEFENCE REQUESTS AN MEDICAL EXAMINATION AND THAT EXPERTS MONTAGNIER and PERRIN BE BROUGHT TO TESTIFY


PROSECUTOR CALLS FOR MAXIMUM SENTENCES ON THE FOREIGNERS: SAYS THEY LOST ALL HUMANIY WHEN THEY KILLED THE CHILDREN: DESCRIBES THE EPIDEMIC AS A NATIONAL CATASTROPHE:CLAIMS THAT MONTAGNIER HAD STATED THE CHILDREN WERE SELECTED:DESCRIBES PLOT TO DISRUPT LYBIA BY FOREIGN SECRET SERVICES WHO ARE USED TO KILLING CHILDREN TO ACHIEVE THEIR AIMS.POINTS TO THE FACT THAT THE CHILDREN WERE ALL INFECTED ON THE INTERNAL WARD:CITES RECORDS THAT THE HIV VIRAL COUNT WAS VERY HIGH.POINTS OUT THAT THERE WERE 4 SUBTYPES OF AIDS RATHER THAN THE NORMAL ONE OR TWO

DEFENCE ARGUES THE CHARGES ARE NOT PROVED AND THAT PROSECUTION HAD NOT PRODUCED PHYSICAL EVIDENCE ON SEVERAL COUNTS: AGAIN MOTIONS FOR A MEDICAL EXAMINATION TO DETERMINE WHAT CAUSED SPECIFIC INJURIES TO THE DEFENDANTS: SAYS HE KNOWS AND WILL SUBMIT NAMES OF THE TORTURERS TO THE COURT: ARGUES THAT THE LAW CANNOT CONVICT FOR ADULTERY ON THE TESTIMONY OF ONLY ONE PARTY:ARGUES THAT PROSECUTION CASE RESTS ONLY ON CONFFESIONS WHICH ARE CONTRADICORY:SUMMATES THAT THE INFECTION OCCURED THROUGH NEGLEGENCE AND POOR HYGIENE

COURT DISMISSES THE CASE AND REMANDS IT TO THE PROSECUTION CALLING IT DUBIOUS, CONTROVERSIAL AND FABRICATED


PROCEEDINGS

The trial began without any notice to the Bulgarian Consulate in Tripoli.

The six Bulgarian medical workers pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Vulcheva and Nenova testified that they had been tortured by electric shocks, and beaten.

Vulcheva testified that she had been "subjected to all kinds of torture known since the Middle Ages." Vulcheva denied knowing any persons identified as 'John the Englishman' or 'Adel the Egyptian'.

Nenova went into detail about the torture and the horror it caused her. She testified that she confessed and attempted suicide for fear of further torture. She said that she had been shown the other nurses' passports and that this was how she identified them. She denied that she had attempted suicide out of a sense of guilt.

Nenova:"I am not guilty on any of the counts. My conscience is clear" "We had protection from no-one, we had no doctor. We were alone there with those men who did everything they wanted to do".

Nenova stated that she had repudiated her confession as far back as as July 17, 1999 but that a Colonel Juma came to her and threatened with renewed torture if she persisted. She made repeated references to Colonel Juma during her testimony. She testified she and Ashraf were beaten and were without an interpreter during interrogation.

The questioning revealed that Nenova, Chervenyashka, Siropoulo and Dimitrova did not know Vulcheva until 24 hours after what they described as their "kidnapping" from Benghazi, only after, according to Nenova , their blindfolds were taken off.

Of the Bulgarians, only Nenova and Vulcheva admitted that they had seen Ashraf at the Benghazi Children's Hospital where he was an intern. They are emphatic, that they did not communicate with him and did not perform any tasks assigned by him.


All the nurses and Dr Georgiev denied the charge that they had been paid "large sums of money" to infect the children.


Under questioning, the accused Libyan doctors focussed on the medical aspect of the trial. The Libyan defendants read prepared statements and were asked only a few questions. The lawyers of the Palestinian and of the Bulgarians objected.

Lawyer Bizanti requested an international medical expert examination and the admission of witnesses for questioning, including Prof. Luc Montagnier of the Institut Pasteur in Paris, who discovered the AIDS virus, and Prof. Luc Perrin of the Geneva University Hospital.

The Libyan prosecutor requested the People's Court in Tripoli to pass maximum sentences on the six Bulgarian health professionals and the Palestinian doctor standing trial. The prosecutor said "These people have no moral human feelings once they have killed those children. They have sold themselves to the devil, even though the Jamahiriya has given them the right to work and live without let or hindrance." He described the children's infection as a "national catastrophe."

The prosecutor cited the opinion of local and foreign experts, and alleged that Prof. Luc Montagnier, had said that the children had been selected to be infected with the virus. According to the prosecutor, the children were victimized by foreign secret services which masterminded the infection.

Prosecutor:

"To those services, child killing is nothing new. In this way they want to prevent Libya from playing an important role in the Arab World and to disturb calm in the country. The killing of the children by that virus is a means by which those secret services achieve their ends,"

The Prosecutor points out that all 393 children were infected in the internal ward of the Benghazi Hospital rather than in other wards where the risk is greater.

He cites medical records according to which the HIV concentration in the children's bloodstream was very high, a million per millilitre.

The prosecutor focuses on the fact that four subtypes of the virus were detected rather than the usual one or two.

Bulgarians' defence lawyer Vladimir Sheitanov argues that the charges against the Bulgarian nurses in the type and form presented in the indictment were not proved, that the prosecution's theory was highly dubious, that substantial physical evidence was lacking:

The Prosecution had not exhibited the blood bottles which allegedly contain contaminated plasma,

nor the device allegedly used by Kristiyana Vulcheva to distil alcohol,

nor the syringes which were allegedly used to commit the crime,

nor the photos allegedly showing sexual relationships between the defendants.

According to lawyer Sheitanov, the Bulgarian medics had neither the time nor the conditions to commit jointly the crime ascribed to them, considering that Nenova, Siropoulo and Chervenyashka started work at the children's hospital on February 17, 1998, Dimitrova on August 10, and Ashraf on August 1, 1998.

Sheitanov moved the court to order a medical examination of the defendants to establish:

what caused the scars on the fingers of one of the nurses,

the broken ribs of another

the scars on the buttocks of a third defendant.

He also moved for establishment of the cause of their psychological instability and depressions. The lawyer said that the identity of the torturers is known to the Bulgarian defence and that he would submit their names in writing to the court.

The Libyan lawyer Bizanti accused the People's Prosecution Bureau of failing to investigate the defendants' assertions that they had been tortured in police custody and, worse yet, that after questioning at the prosecution office they had been returned to the custody of their torturers.

Bizanti claimed that the case records contained no evidence that these crimes were committed. The charges rested on self-confessions, extracted under pressure, which were later retracted by the defendants. The confessions of Nenova and Vulcheva, as well as of Ashraf, were ridden with inconsistencies. Bizanti did not find any proof in the case records that his clients had met for the purpose of conspiring.

There was no physical evidence that Vulcheva distilled alcohol.

The allegations that bottles containing alcohol residue had been found in her home were not confirmed by forensic laboratory tests.

The Libyan lawyer says that the rest of the charges, of illicit trade in foreign currency and adultery, are not proven, either.

He reminded the Judges that under the Libyan law, adultery had to be established by the confessions of both parties whereas only Ashraf alleged that he had had a relationship with some of the nurses.

Bizanti drew the conclusion that the infection had occurred through negligence and described the poor hygiene at the Al Fateh Hospital. He quoted a Libyan doctor as saying at the previous court hearing that the hospital should have been closed if all rules of hygiene were to be observed.

Bizanti:

"The condition of the hospital provides a hospitable environment for the spread of the AIDS virus,"

He dwelled on the shortage of dispensable supplies and medical materials, as well as of AIDS diagnostication tests, due to the embargo imposed on Libya. Bizanti quoted the opinion of experts of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as of a Libyan physician who is in charge of the National AIDS Control Laboratory. The WHO experts assumed that the Benghazi Children's Hospital lacked the appropriate hygienic conditions.

The Court decided that there was not enough evidence to substantiate the accusations that the Bulgarians had been conspiring against the Libyan State, and returned the case back to the prosecution. "The People's Court has the jurisdiction to pronounce itself on state security-related cases and believes itself incompetent on this matter, the spreading of the HIV virus which caused the death of more than one person is a fact, but the claims that the defendants were conspiring against the Libyan state are dubious and controversial". The Court dismissed the conspiracy claims of the prosecution as "a fabricated reading" and "conclusions removed from the context" and said that they saw no evidence of a criminal intention in the defendants for action to undermine the state security.

The People’s Court is a special court to which crimes against the state (attempted forcible overthrow of the state or incitement against it) are referred. Both prosecution and defence have the right to appeal against the judgment before the Court of Appeals in Tripoli. The decision of that court, can be challenged before the Supreme Court, whose judgments are final and unappealable.

Case 213/2002 - Case 607/2003 Benghazi Appeals Court

(July 8 2003 – 2004)

Tight security measures are in place. Many police officers with submachine guns and pistols guard the venue of the hearing near the Al-Kawafiyah Prison The panel on Case No. 213/2002 is composed of judges from Derma, a town neighboring Benghazi. Several judges from Tripoli and Benghazi refused to take on the case due to public sentiments in the two cities. Relatives of children who have died of AIDS gather in front of the building. Defence lawyer Plamen Yalnuzov requests the defendants be released on the recognizance of the Bulgarian Government as certified in a letter by the Bulgarian Embassy in Tripoli.

The two prosecutors in the case insist that the Bulgarians' remand in custody be continued, and the court grants their request.

Defence requests that a report by prominent AIDS experts Luc Montagnier and Vittorio Colizzi be admitted in evidence. [8]


SUMMARY:

A COMPENSATION CLAIM IS ENTERED AGAINST THE DEFENDANTS BY AN HIV VICTIMS LAWYER: THE COURT DECIDES TO CALL PROFESSORS LUC MONTAGNIER and VITTORIO COLIZZI AS WITNESSES:

LAWYER YALNUZOV MOVES THAT A REPORT SUBMITTED BY ABU ZAYD UMAR DURDA TO THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL BLAMING THE EMBARGO FOR THE POOR STATE OF LIBYAS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM BE ADMITTED IN EVIDENCE: YALNUZOV MOVES THAT THE LAST ISSUE OF THE SUPPRESSED MAGAZINE "LA" (WHO'S INVESTIGATIONS BROKE THE STORY OF THE EPIDEMIC) BE ADMITTED:

PROFESSORS LUC MONTAGNIER and VITTORIO COLIZZI AS WITNESSES FOR THE DEFENCE: THEY TESTIFY THAT THE EPIDEMIC PREDATED THE ARRIVAL OF THE ACCUSED: THEY TESTIFY THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE THE MODE OF INFECTION: PROFESSOR MONTAGNIER TESTIFIES THAT THE VIRUS IN THE 393 CHILDREN STUDIED IS A RARE TYPE FOUND MOSTLY IN WEST AFRICA BUT ALSO THROUGH OUT THE CONTINENT: THE PROSECUTOR STATES THAT THE CASE DOCUMENTS DO NOT REFLECT THE REAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN WHICH IS 429.PROFESSOR MONTAGNIER TESTIFIES HE IS POSITIVE THE EPIDEMIC STARTED A YEAR BEFORE THE NURSES ARRIVED.

TWO LIBYAN EXPERTS TESTIFY FOR THE PROSECUTION: AWAD ABUDJADJA OF THE LIBYAN NATIONAL COMMITTE ON AIDS AND BUSHA ALLO, HEAD OF THE INFECTIUS DISEASES WARD OF THE Al JAMAHIRIYA HOSPITAL IN TRIPOLI. THEY STRESS THE HIGH VIRAL LOAD IN THE BLOOD OF INFECTED CHILDREN AS INDICATIVE OF A PURPOSFUL ACT


A lawyer of the parents of one of the infected children lodges a compensation claim for 15 million Libyan dinars. The claim is handed over to the lawyers of the defendants.


Several relatives of some of the infected children are admitted in the court room. The six Bulgarian defendants sit behind bars in a partitioned section of the room.


At its second hearing, the Criminal Court in Benghazi decides to call professors Luc Montagnier and Vittorio Colizzi as witnesses in Case No. 213/2002 at the next hearing on September 3.

Yalnuzov moves that a report by Abu Zayd Umar Durda, made in connection with the causes of the AIDS epidemic in Libya and presented to the UN Security Council, be admitted in evidence. The Durda report blames the bad state of the Libyan health care system on the UN embargo imposed against Libya in 1992.

Yalnuzov's moves that the court admit in evidence the last issue of the "La" magazine, which in 1998 conducted an investigation into the causes of the AIDS epidemic at the Al Fatah children's hospital in Benghazi and was suppressed in consequence. [12]

Prof. Luc Montagnier and Prof. Vittorio Colizzi testify in Court as witnesses for the defence. They say that the HIV epidemic in the children's hospital in the Libyan city of Benghazi predated the arrival of the Bulgarian medics to the hospital and it is impossible to establish the manner of infection.

According to Prof. Montagnier, the virus identified in the 393 children in the hospital is of a rare type spread mainly in Western Africa but also found in the rest of the continent. The outbreak was probably started by an infected child admitted for treatment at the hospital. Injection was not the only possible way of infection, and any other manipulation involving penetration of the skin, or even multiple use of the same oxygen mask, could have done that. According to Prof. Montagnier and Prof. Colizzi, it is impossible to establish the manner of infection - intentional, unintentional, or otherwise - or the exact time it happened. They also say that it is impossible to establish whether a child got the infection from a HIV-positive mother, who may or may not have had any symptoms, or whether the child passed on the virus to the healthy mother.

The prosecution says that while the case records speak of 393 infected children, their real number is 426

Prof. Montagnier is positive that the epidemic at the hospital had started about a year before the Bulgarian nurses were hired. He said he was familiar with the case before his first visit to Libya in 1999 as he was in the process of studying the cases of hundreds of HIV-positive children that were being examined or treated in hospitals in Switzerland, France and Italy. At the time he was working on these cases, some of the children did not have the symptoms as the incubation period of the virus is about 10 years.

Answering questions by the judge, the prosecution and the defence, Prof. Montagnier states that it is possible to preserve the virus and then reactivate it if it has been held in plasma. Depending on how it is stored, it can be kept active between two and several days. He testifies that he is not aware of the existence of technical capacity in Libya for monitoring such storage of the virus, at the time of the children's hospital epidemic or now.

According to Prof. Montagnier, the health authorities in Libya and the management of the Benghazi hospital showed serious concern over the infection during his first visit there. He stresses that back then they had no idea of the cause of the spreading epidemic.


It is a mysterious case, says Prof. Montagnier. The Benghazi hospital had two HIV-positive nurses against a total of 50 diagnosed with the virus worldwide. It is known for a fact that some of the infected children had not been treated by the infected nurses, and also that some of the children had got the virus before the Bulgarian nurses came to the hospital.

Answering a question by the Bulgarians' defence, he affirms that the infection could have started outside the hospital ward where the Bulgarians were working.

Two Libyan experts testify for the prosecution, Awad Abudjadja of the Libyan national committee on AIDS and Busha Allo, head of the infectious diseases ward of the Al Jamahiriya hospital in Tripoli.

The two Libyan experts underscorethat the virus load in the blood of the infected children was too high, implying that there has been intention in the infection.

September 8, 2003. In closing argument the prosecutors insist that there is strong evidence of intention in the infection of the children in the Benghazi children's hospital, for which the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor are responsible. They request the death penalty.The Nine Libyan doctors who are also charged on this case, face 10 years in prison upon conviction.

The prosecutors move that the case be split so that nine Libyan officers charged with violent treatment of the Bulgarian defendants during a preliminary proceeding, can get a separate trial.

The prosecutors' case for a death penalty is based on the confessions one of the accused Bulgarian nurses, Nassya Nenova, made during the investigation. Nenova admitted to injecting children with contaminated products she had got from the Palestinian doctor, while unaware that they contained HIV, she believed she was testing a new drug. Nenova withdrew her confession before the Libyan People's Court in 2001 and said they were extracted under duress. Libyan law disregards confessions extracted with violence.

The prosecutors also claim that another defendant, nurse Kristiana Vulcheva, acted as a mastermind in the scheme that involved the other five Bulgarians and the Palestinian, and cited transcripts of her bank accounts. They say she had performed the money transfers paying the other defendants for their part in the scheme.

According to the prosecutors, Vulcheva had a luxurious lifestyle and that she speaks Arabic, which they cited as further proof of her guilt. The piece of material evidence which they said calls for the death penalty are 5 containers of plasma protein found to contain 4 varieties of the HIV virus according to a report by Awad Abudadjadja, a coordinator of the Libyan national committee on AIDS, who testified at the September 3 hearing.

The lawyer of the plaintiffs in the civil suit urges the court to disregard a report by HIV experts Luc Montagnier and Vittorio Colizzi on the case, on grounds of being incomplete.

December 8, 2003. The Court orders a new expert study of the case record. The study will be conducted by 12 local doctors, who are expected to be sworn in in court at the December 15 sitting. If they are ready with the expert examination by December 29, the Court will hold a hearing on that date.

Prosecution witnesses tell the Court that the Bulgarians were not tortured. A forensic doctor summoned as a witness argues that the scarring on the Bulgarians' bodies could be the result of injuries, not violence.

The policemen who allegedly tortured the Bulgarians say that they themselves had been tortured to confess that they had extracted confessions by torture.

Five Libyan doctors are sworn in at a hearing of the Benghazi Criminal Court, to make up the expert commission which will examine the case records. The court rules that the commission has until December 29 to issue an opinion

The Criminal Court in Benghazi receives the report from the Libyan medical panel. The panel reportedly concludes that, contrary to the findings Prof. Luc Montagnier and Prof. Vittorio Colizzi, there was no evidence that an in-hospital infection led to the AIDS outbreak at the Benghazi hospital that affected 426 children. The Libyan doctors conclude that deliberate actions were the likelier cause of the mass-scale infection.


The Bulgarians' lawyers submit written opinions by two US scientists answering 31 questions regarding the medical evidence and documents in the case. Their conclusions point to a hospital infection as the cause of the epidemic and to the lack of intentional actions and even involvement in causing it.

At the 14th hearing of the case, the Libyan virologist Salim Al-Agiri tells the court that the infection at the Benghazi children's hospital was due to lack of prevention and poor control. The virologist is summoned as a witness for the Bulgarians' defence. Despite the persistent questions, he refuses to make any comment on the Libyan medical panel concluding that HIV outbreak was most likely due to intentional action by the Bulgarians.

At the 15th hearing of the case, the Court hears the final statements of the parties.

May 6, 2004.

The Criminal Court in Benghazi sentences to death by a firing squad the five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor, after finding them guilty for the intentional infection 426 Libyan children with AIDS. Dr Zdravko Georgiev is found guilty of illegal transactions in foreign currency and sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of 600 dinars. As he has been in custody for over five years, he is released for time served.

The Bulgarians' defence lawyers say that the sentences will be appealed before the Supreme Court.

Case of the Supreme Court in Tripoli

The Libyan Supreme Court heard the appeal of the cases beginning on March 29, 2005. On March 30, prosecutors WE'RE SMARTIES urged the court to revoke the death sentences and remand the case to the lower courts for retrial. Under Libyan law, the court cannot accept any new evidence, although the Bulgarian party argued that there had been wrongly interpreted evidence during the court sessions so far. The judgment was to have been handed down on May 31, 2005, but was postponed (with no reason given) until November 15, 2005—during the six month delay, the medics were to be allowed an extra room and daily walks. On that date, the judgment was again deferred (ostensibly to give the defense more time to prepare) until January 31, 2006. Then in late December the hearing was unexpectedly moved up to December 25 (Christmas Day) when the Supreme Court revoked the death sentences and ordered a new trial. In April 2006, the Bulgarian foreign ministry announced that the new trial in Tripoli would begin on May 11, 2006.[19]

MERGE REMOVE REDUNDANCYS

The Libyan Supreme Court, having heard the appeal by the medics against their conviction, was originally due to deliver its judgment on May 31, 2005, but first postponed it to November 15 and then again until January 31, 2006.[20] However, in late December, it was announced that the judgment would be delivered on December 25 (Christmas Day).[21] (The nurses were first sentenced to death on May 6, 2004, when Bulgaria was celebrating major Christian festivities of St George's Day.[22]) The Supreme Court duly quashed the death sentence imposed on the Benghazi Six and ordered a re-trial.[23] Second sentencing MERGE

ALL THIS OUTRAGE AND SHOCK DOESNT BELONG HERE SECTION SERVES NO PURPOSE

On December 19, 2006, the six medics were sentenced to death.[24] EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini quickly expressed his shock at the verdict and called for the decision to be reviewed, as was done by the Bulgarian government and international organizations, including Amnesty International, the World Medical Association and the International Council of Nurses.[25]

Torture trial

WEAK more meat generaly

The confessions that the prosecution obtained from three of the defendants, Kristiyana Valtcheva, Valentina Siropulo and the doctor Ashraf al-Hajuj, have been alleged to have been "obtained only after an interrogation process in which they were stripped, beaten, attacked by dogs, electrocuted [sic] and, in at least one case, sexually assaulted with a police baton."[26] Two of the nurses say that they were raped while imprisoned. Al-Hajuj sustained damage to his hands that would prevent him ever working as a doctor again after his release.

May, 2005 Human Rights Watch interview Jadida prison

“I confessed during torture with electricity. They put small wires on my toes and on my thumbs. Sometimes they put one on my thumb and another on either my tongue, neck or ear,” Valentina Siropulo, one of the Bulgarian defendants, told Human Rights Watch. “They had two kinds of machines, one with a crank and one with buttons.”

Another Bulgarian defendant, Kristiana Valceva, said interrogators used a small machine with cables and a handle that produced electricity.

“During the shocks and torture they asked me where the AIDS came from and what is your role,” she told Human Rights Watch. She said that Libyan interrogators subjected her to electric shocks on her breasts and genitals.

“My confession was all in Arabic without translation,” she said. “We were ready to sign anything just to stop the torture.” [27]

Lawyers for the accused medical personnel have asked for 5 million Libyan dinars (approx. 3.7M USD/3.1M EUR) as compensation. Much of the evidence is based on medical reports prepared by authorities from Bulgaria relating to marks and scars on the defendants. All of the accused Libyans deny the charges, and none of them were jailed. After several procedural delays, their trial began in late May 2005. on June 7, 2005, the ten defendants were acquitted.[28]

Civil lawsuit by HIV victimLIBYAN VICTIMS CIVIL SUIT

The civil lawsuit was initiated by the relatives of a young HIV victim — the family says that their child was infected by the Bulgarians, and demands to receive compensation of almost 12 million US dollars.

The civil lawsuit against the six medics was postponed until December 27, 2005, which had been expected to be after the conclusion of their last appeal trial.[29]

As of October 1, 2005, Libya has repeatedly stated that Bulgaria must negotiate with the victims' families, and Bulgaria and Western nations have repeatedly refused because to do so would admit guilt. Proposed deals to offer humanitarian assistance not admitting guilt have been rebuffed.

A hearing was postponed on October 2, and another was scheduled for December 27—however, on December 17, the new hearing was further postponed until February 25 2006.[30][31]

SPARCE AND OUT OF DATE

International Reactions Controvercy

ORGANIZE INTO PUBLIC AND OFFICIAL

OFFICIAL TO THEIR OWN GHETTO


SCIENTISTS HAVE THEIR OWN GHETTO NOT HERE

PUBLIC SUB INTO ORGANIZED AND POPULAR

CATEGORICAL BY NATIONALITY

EVOLUTION OF THE CRISIS KEEP REASONABLY CHRONOLOGICAL WITHIN SECTIONS

4OO KIDS TO DIE HAS ZERO MORON FACTOR AT PLAY

SO PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS LYBIA

FAMILY GROUPS LYBIA

PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS BULGARIA THE VIGIL THING


The international community and medical authorities disputed the convictions and argued that the HIV infections were caused by pre-existing poor hygiene at the children's hospital, that the infections began with a single child admitted prior to the Bulgarians' arrival in Libya, and that the Benghazi Six were 

LOSE THIS

scapegoats being cynically used by Libya as a bargaining chip.[32] United States Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, vowed to work for the release of the accused.[33] On September 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov vowed to work for the release of the medics on his trip to Libya in November.[34] U.S. President George W. Bush has said "I want them free." One of Gaddafi's sons has admitted at least some Libyan responsibility. On December 24, 2005, it was announced that Libya, Bulgaria, the EU, and the US had agreed on a fund which may help to resolve the matter.[35][36]

In response to the risk of a new death penalty verdict in the current trial, international opinion has again began to mobilize. In October 2006, several scientific organizations responded with appeals, and The New York Times[37] and the journal Nature[38] published strong editorials calling for a fair trial. 

Quid pro quoMERGE

On April 27, 2001, addressing a conference in the Nigerian capital Abuja, the Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi delivered a speech in which, without making a specific mention of the Bulgarian health professionals, accused the CIA and Mossad of conspiring to infect Libyan children with AIDS. "This is something terrible, a catastrophe, an odious crime. We have found a doctor and a group of nurses who possessed the HIV virus and who were asked to experiment effect of viruses of this type, AIDS, on the children in question," Colonel Qaddafi said in Abuja. "Who charged them with this odious task? Some said it was the CIA. Others said it was Mossad... The court trial is going on, it will become an international trial, like the Lockerbie trial,"

Although he concurred with the guilty verdict, Gaddafi proposed releasing the six medics if, quid pro quo:

  • the convicted Pan Am Flight 103 bomber Megrahi, serving a life sentence in a Scottish jail, were to be released; and,
  • US$2.7 billion compensation were paid to Libya for the care of the HIV-infected patients (the exact sum offered by Libya in compensation for the 270 lives lost in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing).[39]

Bulgaria refused to pay any compensation on the grounds that it would be admitting the guilt of the medics. And on June 7, 2005, the European Union engaged in negotiations to provide assistance to Libya, but not directly linked to the case of the six medics.[40] On August 18, 2005, Libya recommended that Bulgaria should negotiate on the amount of the payment.[41] The next week, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) delegate visited Libya and saw the medics.[42] On August 31, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin stated that Bulgaria would send humanitarian aid while not acknowledging the guilt of the medics.[43][44] On September 8, it was announced that Libya had prepared a list of 40 items (non-monetary) that should be sent as aid and that Bulgaria could supply 24 of them.[45]

Incentives for a resolutionDIPLOMATIC EFFORTS

POSSIBLE NEW SECTION PURE JUNK AS IS On April 12, 2005, reports surfaced that Libya was considering a trade embargo with Bulgaria for what the Libyan government termed Bulgaria's failure to prevent the HIV outbreak. Although the case has resulted in tense diplomatic negotiations in the past, this move is considered an unexpected escalation by Libya. The reports were later denied by Libya.

Libya has a motivation to resolve the case amicably with Europe in that it desires to join the EU's "Barcelona" trade partnership (see Barcelona Conference). Executing the medics under the current perceptions would almost certainly have ruined any chances of Libya's joining in the foreseeable future. PSUEDO TALKING HEAD BABBLE ALL WORTHLESS

Relief (and protests) over first reprieve AND REACTION - MERGE On December 25, 2005, Libya's supreme court overturned death sentences against the Benghazi Six, who had always denied intentionally infecting 426 children with HIV-contaminated blood.

Bulgarian president Georgi Parvanov said the court ruling "confirmed our hope that justice in this case will prevail". President Parvanov added: "The unfair death sentences were reversed. …We hope that the swiftness and the effectiveness demonstrated by the Libyan court in the past days will help solve the case as soon as possible."

US State Department spokesman, Justin Higgins, described the decision as a "positive development since it removes the risk of the death penalty being carried out. As we have made clear before, we believe a way should be found to allow the medics to return to their home".

The Council of Europe welcomed the decision and said it hoped the new trial will "comply with the internationally recognised standards of fairness and due process".

However, parents and relatives of the 426 HIV-infected children — 51 of whom are said to have died of AIDS — stood outside the supreme court protesting against the reprieve, and calling for the death penalties to be carried out. But Libyan prime minister, Shukri Ghanem, insisted that the fate of the Benghazi Six was entirely a juridical matter. In a statement broadcast on the Qatar TV channel Al Jazeera, Mr Ghanem said that all efforts should now be focused on the infected children, "who are subject to a death sentence each day".[46] The families of the infected children also demanded compensation for the actions taken by the convicted medics: figures of up to $10million per family have been mentioned — just the level of compensation offered by Libya for the families of the 270 victims of the Lockerbie disaster.[47]

On May 3, 2006, the Bulgarian independent daily newspaper Novinar published a set of 12 cartoons mocking Gaddafi, Libyan justice and the Bulgarian government's 'quiet diplomacy' vis-à-vis the HIV trial. Publication of the cartoons caused outrage in Tripoli and the Libyan ambassador in Sofia delivered a protest note to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry. In response, the Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister, Feim Chaushev, and President Parvanov apologized and distanced themselves from Novinar's cartoons.

Scientific Controversy

UP TOP UNDER CONTROVERSY SUBSECTION PUT HARDCORE BELOW TO FINISH OUT ARTICLE

THE NEW GENOTYPE BUSINESS

THE RECOMBINANT BUSINESS

THE "MISTRANSLATION" BUSINESS

QUOTES OF MAJOR PLAYERS, SCIENTIFIC

REF VARIOUS OUTRAGED SCI PUBS


The WHO Report of Dr. P.N. Shrestha (1999)

NOTE MORE CITATIONS WOULD BE IN ORDER BACKGRAOUND AND AUTHORITY FOR VISIT

A report that described the visit performed by the WHO team (Dr. P.N. Shrestha, Dr. A. Eleftherious and Dr. V. Giacomet) to Tripoli, Sirte and Benghazi the 28 December 1998 – 11 January 1999 while the Bulgarians were still on staff.

The report is appearantly classified. SITE HERE

"This Report strongly suggests that the nosocomial HIV infections at the Al-Fateh Hospital were caused by multiple sources of infections. Moreover, the WHO team notes the lack of required supplies and equipment such as sharp container, sterilizer, incinerator, protective gloves, etc. […] The WHO has noted several similarities with previously documented outbreaks in children such as in Elista, USSR in 1988 and in Romania in 1990. In particular, the practice of using in dwelling intravenous catheters for injections in hospitalized children and sharing the same syringes without appropriate sterilization, would appear to be possible causes of the outbreak in Benghazi."

Montagnier/Colizzi 2003

Final Report of Prof. Luc Montagnier and Prof. Vittorio Colizzi

NEED NICE TIGHT SUMMARY UP TOP BACKGRAOUND AND AUTHORITY FOR VISIT Montagnier and Colizzi, work from Libyan documents at Al-Fatih hospital, dividing the patients into categories A–G based on case history. They reported that the first infection (patient zero) "was already present in the Benghazi Hospital in April 1997" and found that "According to the Al-Fateh digital List in the year 1997, at least 7 children were already found infected. At least 14 children admitted and discharged from the Hospital in January and February 1998 (before the Bulgarian staff under Court took in the positions in the Hospital) were found to be seropositive when the analyses were performed in late 1998."

Reviewing the history of the 7 patients who were infected by 1997 and were not admitted after 1998 (Category A, n. 308, 312, 340, 350, 356, 373, 385) the team theorized that patient n. 356 who was admitted 28 times between 1994–97 in Ward B, ISO and Ward A was the probable source of the infection. The comment is that Ward B was already heavy contaminated in November 1997

Three Children (Category B) were admitted and found seropositive after the 9 February 1999, date of departure of the Bulgarian staff. N. 349, 376, 384. The comment is that the infection was still active also in the absence of the Bulgarian staff.

For infections included in Categories A-B-C-D there is no evidence that correlate infections with the presence of the Bulgarian staff in the Al-Fateh Hospital (arrival: first week of March 1998; till 9 February 1999): total numbers are 32. But, more importantly, Categories A and C definitively prove that the HIV infection in the Al-Fateh Hospital was already active in 1997. The identity in the cluster of DNA sequences of the HIV in this nosocomial infections, published by the Swiss and by the Italian groups, strongly indicate that the infection already existed in 1997 and was capable to spread in 1998 and in 1999.

The report concluded with the statement:

  • The HIV nosocomial infection of children which occurred at the Al-Fateh Hospital of Benghazi in 1997-1998-99 has presumably originated from the use of injection material contaminated by blood of one child infected through unidentified horizontal or vertical (more probably) transmission. This putative zero patient was present already in the Hospital before April 1997 (first sequenced child), and the horizontal contamination of some children was already operating in 1997, in the year 1998, and still in March 1999 (last sequenced child). All samples sequenced from these children (1997-1998-1999) belong to a similar viral subtype, strongly indicating a common origin.
  • The HIV strain responsible for this nosocomial infection belongs to the subtype A/G, a recombinant form of virus frequent in Central and West Africa. The transmissibility virulence and pathogenicity of this particular A/G HIV-1 strain has been shown to be very high, as also suggested by the putative retroinfection from some infected children to mothers by breast feeding.
  • The high number of cases (around 450), and the period of time of the nosocomial infection (over three years) can be explained by both the high specific infectivity of this strain and certain incorrect practices used by the medical and nursing staff at that time. This assumption is also supported by the high percentage of infected nurses in the Al-Fateh Hospital (two nurses as opposed to a total number of 50 cases of infection in hospital workers all over the world after 20 years of HIV circulation). Alteration of the specific guidelines established to avoid nosocomial infections (not only for HIV but also for HCV), a large introduction of invasive procedures, the shortage of disposable materials leading to the re-use of injection material, are all possible reasons which may explain this massive nosocomial infection.
  • No evidence has been found for a deliberated injection of HIV contaminated material (bioterrorism). Epidemiological stratification, according to admission time, of the data on seropositivity and results of molecular analysis are strongly against this possibility.

The prosecution refuted the Montagnier/Colizzi report with a response from a five member panel of Libyan experts. This panel discounted the Montagnier/Colizzi because there was no proof that there had ever been syringe reuse in any Libyan hospitals. Additionally the Libyan panel stated that indwelling intravenous catheters were not available in the hospital and were never imported. The Libyan panel also concluded that if such improper practices were being had been taking place, there would have been widespread and serious outbreaks over a much longer period of time in contrast to the current instance. On the basis of the Libyan experts findings, The Montagnier/Colizzi report was not admitted into evidence. YEA WELL DON'T ALWAYS BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ IN THE PAPER

Colizzi then submitted a letter to the President of the Court of Justice contending that he and Montagnier found the report of prosecutors panel unscientific and pointed out that all the data that the Libyans referred to as "inconsistent" was actually the data collected from the Libyan side. He concluded by stating that

Our impression is that the goal of this home-made report was to displace the responsibilities of nosocomial HIV infection from the health care people of the Hospital to the foreign Bulgarian personnel. Of course the latter personnel may share part of this responsibility, in using or accepting incorrect practices, but it does not mean a deliberate action of poisoning children.

CITATION HERE

Final report by the [Libyan] National Experts Committee

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v443/n7114/extref/national_experts.pdf

Nature study

IMO THIS REPORT - PUBLICITY STUNT- ADDS NOTHING EXPOSITORY-COMING AFTER "FREE BENGHAZI 6" On December 7, 2006, the influential science journal Nature published a new study which examined the mutation history of the HIV found in blood samples from some of the children, and found that the strain had been present in Libya before the Benghazi Six arrived, based on the rate of genetic mutation in viruses. This added support to the earlier work of Prof. Luc Montagnier and Prof. Vittorio Colizzi.[48][49][50] The news broke on December 6, and was quickly published across the globe. As of December 19, the Libyan government had not yet responded, but the head of the Association of the HIV infected children in the country claimed that the study had no scientific value.[51]

Timeline of Key Events

http://www.bta.bg/site/libya/en/02chronology.htm


References

  1. ^ © Fred Abrahams/Human Rights Watch 2005 (May 9, 2005). "Photos of the Bulgarian health workers" (Press release). Human Rights Watch.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Perrin; et al. (10 July 2001). "Nosocomial Outbreak of Multiple Bloodborne Viral Infections". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 184: 369–372. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |quotes= and |month= (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  3. ^ "Pending sentences of 7 defendants in an unfair trial in Libya". BHC reports. Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. 12 September 2001.
  4. ^ "Libya: Foreign Health Workers Describe Torture". Human Rights News. Human Rights Watch. November 15, 2005.
  5. ^ "Bulgarian engineer says he saw nurses in Libyan AIDS trial tortured". Agence France-Presse. May 17, 2006.
  6. ^ a b c d "The trial in Libya CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS December 14, 1998 through December 8, 2004 english version". BULGARIAN NEWS AGENCY. 18-Apr-2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ David Holley, Times Staff Writer (May 9, 2001). "Libya Conspiracy Theory Puts 6 Lives in Limbo" (html). Los Angeles Times. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ^ a b Luc Montagnier, Vittorio Colizzi (Paris, 7 April 2003). "Final Report of Prof. Luc Montagnier and Prof. Vittorio Colizzito Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on the Nosocomial HIV infection at the Al-Fateh Hospital, Benghazi, Libya" (pdf). Retrieved Dec 25 2006. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ Richard J. Roberts1 and 113 fellow Nobel Laureates (9 November 2006). "An open letter to Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi". Nature. 444 (146). {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Libya to execute HIV medics". CNN.com. 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Libyan court to rule on HIV case". Al Jazeera. 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b author, unknown (November 1998 Issue 78). "Banned "La" magazine Aids expose'" (Reprint). former "La" magazine Benghazi, Libya. Retrieved 2006-12-23. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Bulgarian Nurses Face Death Penalty in Libya". SPIEGEL Magazine English Site. November 9, 2005. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "LA" interview Sulaiman al-Ghemari, Libyan Minister for Health,most cases among children". LibyanewsandViews. 31 December, 1998. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ "Free the Benghazi six". Lancet. 368 (9550): 1844. 2006 Nov 25. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Libyan justice: medicine on death row". opendemocracy.net. 19-12-2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "The trial in Libya CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS December 14, 1998 through December 8, 2004 english version". Bulgarian Embassy. {{cite web}}: External link in |authorlink= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "Law on Copyright and Neighboring rights(Bulgaria)" (pdf). STATE GAZETTE. NO. 56. Bulgaria. 29.06.1993. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4935024.stm
  20. ^ http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15241313.htm
  21. ^ http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=34406
  22. ^ http://www.novinite.com/newsletter/print.php?id=56771
  23. ^ http://www.libyaonline.com/home/detail.php?news=202
  24. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6192599.stm
  25. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6192883.stm
  26. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1935469,00.html
  27. ^ http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/14/libya12013.htm
  28. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1935469,00.html
  29. ^ http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=53178
  30. ^ http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?r=1&catid=146&ch=0&newsid=78811
  31. ^ http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=56679
  32. ^ The Guardian.
  33. ^ novinite.
  34. ^ novinite.
  35. ^ Reuters.
  36. ^ Yahoo!
  37. ^ NY Times.
  38. ^ Nature.
  39. ^ http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=57381
  40. ^ http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=57040
  41. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=1048104&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
  42. ^ http://www.novinite.com/newsletter/print.php?id=51534
  43. ^ http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?catid=72&ch=0&newsid=71374
  44. ^ http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=124&id=1823
  45. ^ http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?focus=hot&hotid=758
  46. ^ http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?catid=146&ch=0&newsid=79635
  47. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6196913.stm
  48. ^ "Molecular epidemiology: HIV-1 and HCV sequences from Libyan outbreak". Nature.com. 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. ^ "Molecular HIV evidence backs accused medics". Nature.com. 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  50. ^ "The last-ditch bid to save the Tripoli Six". The Herald. 2006-12-07. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  51. ^ "Libya Denies Newest Evidence for Bulgarian Nurses' Innocence". Novinite.com. 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

bg:Процесът срещу българските медици и палестинския лекар в Либия de:HIV-Prozess in Libyen fr:Procès VIH en Libye fi:Libyan_HIV-oikeudenkäynti hr:Suđenje medicinskim djelatnicima u Libiji

Expomed

BULGARIA-PRESS

Sofia, February 24 (BTA) -


INCIDENT WITH BULGARIAN MEDICS IN LIBYA

The issue about the eight Bulgarian physicians arrested in connection with cases of HIV infections at the Benghazi hospital should be resolved at diplomatic level, says Dr Hristo Dimov, Executive Director of the Expomed state-owned company, in an interview for "24 Chassa" upon his return from Libya Monday.

Some 19 health workers were arrested in Libya two weeks ago.

The released 11 people are already at work and are in good health, says Dimov. Noone wished to return before the expiry of his contract. Under a governmental agreement Expomed gets 25 per cent of the first pay of each medic for whom it has arranged to work abroad. "Pari" also runs an interview with Dimov.

"24 Chassa" quotes Stoyan Garov, former executive director of Expomed, who denies Dimov's allegations that 500,000 US dollars were missing from the company's safe in Tripoli. Due to the scandal the Libyan authorities deny visas to Bulgarian doctors, says Garov quoted by "Novinar".

"24 Chassa" writes that Expomed sustained losses of at least 5,048,292 US dollars owing to the Libyan incident.

Auditor Emil Dimitrov, whose name became known in connection with the audit of the General Customs Directorate, says before a "24 Chassa" reporter that he was stopped from conducting a check on the Libyan case.

http://www.online.bg/coalition2000/eng/preview/Summary-W2.html

Most attention was allotted to the scandal with the eight Bulgarian medical staff and the uncovered USD 5,048,292 mln gone spent by the state-owned company "Expomed".

"24 Hours" of February 24-th published a journalist investigation "How we let go of USD 5,048, 292 in Lybia". The Auditor General Emil Dimitrov comes in saying: "They brushed me off the audit I had undertaken... After I had stood in somebody's way with the audit at the Customs, and Muravey Radev decided I was not the right person to do the audit in Lybia. Things are very serious and let's lope it is not late yet to clean up the mess."

An "Expomed" source states for "24 Hours" that the audit has ascertained that money has been spent on MPs' traveling around, on furnishing a dentist's office for the Government, on sponsoring the government hospital and the Ministry of Interior. According to the source a "strong hand" had stopped the audit at "Expomed".

USD 1,451 million of the amount was written-off as receivables in compliance with a Resolution of the Board of Directors of March 1997. Another USD 3,597 million were transferred as charges for "the Great Lybian River" and as a commission received by a private Lybian citizen against the promise to assist the company in its obtaining of whatever Lybia owed it. The company was run by Dr Stoyan Garov at the time.

There were several schemes for the money to be moved. One of them was other Bulgarian organizations' needs to be covered in Lybia on the "Expomed" 's funds available there, and later on those companies were supposed to pay back owed amounts in Sofia. Thus the embargo imposed by Lybia would have been evaded. Another scheme would imply a confidant well connected in terms of safely crossing the border to take a briefcase full of money as far as Tunis. Secret channels were set up reaching out to certain European banks. The services were used most frequently of Vienna's Central Wechsel und Creditbank. In 1995 SFr 378,529,102 go there.

Things getting ever worse for "Expomed", a new scheme is invented to tap what was left of the dollars. "Expomed" and "Unifarm" conclude a contract under which "Expomed" transfers USD 200,000 and BGL 70 million to purchase substances and produce drugs. "Expomed" also grants an automobile, computer and photocopier equipment amounting to some BGL 10 million. The money diminishing part of the former managers of "Expomed" become "Unifarm" 's employees.

Tripoli's office of "Kintex" gets involved in the "Expomed" tapping scandal, too. A cash order of LD 120,000 extends a credit to the Tripoli's "Kintex" office.

Former Director of "Expomed" Dr Stoyan Garov gives a statement before the daily of February 25-th of this year that it was not about USD 5 million, but USD 12.6 million. The money had been written off by "Medexim" 's management in 1990 because the Bulgarian side did not have documents for them and the Lybian side was not willing to admit its liabilities. Against a charge of USD 700,000 a top-ranking Lybian officer helped some USD 7 million to be returned to Bulgaria. Newspaper's own source the Lybian is currently living in Sofia having bought for himself a house and office in "Lozenetz" with the legal assistance of the former Prime-Minister Dimitar Popov.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:68.60.68.203&oldid=96537491"