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| Foreign medical workers facing death penalty in Libya | Date: 05-02-2004 |
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Foreign medical workers facing death penalty in Libya The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMRHN) is alarmed by the prolonged trial against six Bulgarian and one Palestinian medical workers and expresses deep concern over the violation of the medics’ basic human rights to a fair, impartial and speedy trial by an independent court. Detained since February 1999, the defendants on Monday 9 February in the supposedly last hearing face the death penalty charged with “intentionally infecting more than 400 children with the HIV virus”. Though the charges have not been corroborated by any scientific evidence, a court- appointed commission of Libyan doctors rejected an assessment by international experts who concluded that the poor hygiene conditions at the Al Fateh hospital in Benghazi caused the children's HIV infections. The commission still claims that the defendants wilfully infected the children during blood transfusions and that 23 children have died of AIDS. Initially Libya claimed the infection were part of a conspiracy by the CIA and Israeli intelligence, but acquitted the medics of the conspiracy charges in September 2002 transferring the case to an ordinary criminal court. Since then, the trial has been postponed several times and the defendants have now been in detention for 5 years without a final judgment being passed. The EMHRN is furthermore alarmed at allegations that the detainees have suffered severe physical and psychological torture during police interrogation to obtain confessions, including the use of electric shock, beatings with a stick and rape. The EMHRN strongly urges the Libyan government to comply with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Libya is a party and ensure a transparent, speedy and fair trial by an independent court. It also urges the Libyan authorities to rule out the possible application of the death penalty, to drop all charges against the defendants as being unsubstantiated and free them without further delay. The EMHRN furthermore calls on the Libyan government to undertake a full investigation of the allegations of torture suffered by the medics and bring the perpetrators to justice, in full compliance with its obligations under the International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to which Libya is a party. For further information please contact: Marit Floe Joergensen, Information Officer Tel: +45-32 69 89 12 / Fax: +45-32 95 65 54 E-mail: info@euromedrights.net |
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