|
EU, Amnesty slam Libya trial
19/12/2006 18:03 - (SA)
London - The European Union and Amnesty International have both condemned the sentencing to death of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor in Libya for infecting children with the Aids virus, and appealed for clemency.
"The European Union opposes the death penalty in all cases and under all circumstances. The presidency expects that the Higher Court of Justice will enable a just, equitable and humanitarian solution in this case," the bloc said in a statement.
The six face hanging or execution by firing squad.
"We deplore these sentences and urge the Libyan authorities to declare immediately that they will never be carried out," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa programme director.
"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and in this case it has been imposed after a grossly unfair trial.
The six condemned to death were accused of infecting 426 children with HIV while they were working at Al-Fateh hospital in Benghazi, Libya's second city on the Mediterranean coast. More than 50 have since died.
Appeal
After the new ruling Tuesday, their defence lawyer said an appeal would be filed before Libya's Supreme Court within the legal time-limit of 60 days, in the last recourse open to the medics.
"This is the second time that these six medical professionals have been sentenced to death by Libyan courts," said Amnesty's Smart.
"In this trial, as in their earlier one, confessions which they have repeatedly alleged were extracted from them under torture were used as evidence against them, while defence lawyers were not allowed to bring in international expertise and the evidence produced by Libyan medical experts was questioned by international medical experts.
"Only a fair trial can bring out the truth and do justice to the children who have been infected with HIV and their parents."
|
News
