Focus news agency quoted freed Bulgarian medics Nasya Nenova as saying that they still could not get used to the idea of being free. She said that as a human she had protective mechanisms, which helped her stand the hard test.
Fellow medic Kristiana Vulcheva said: I know that I am free. I know that I am on Bulgarian ground, but I still cannot believe that this is real. Vulcheva said that her memories from Libya were not only negative, because ordinary Libyans were quite normal people.
Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanovs office issued a media statement saying that led by his firm conviction in the innocence of the Bulgarian citizens sentenced in Libya, and using the opportunity granted him by the constitution, Bulgarian President issued an order for their amnesty and pardoned them their punishment.
Purvanov said that it was a good day for Bulgaria, for Bulgarians and especially for the medics. Will, firmness and compassion had been needed for the resolution of the case, he said.
According to Prosecutor-General Boris Velchev, Libya could no longer have any legal claims against the medics or Bulgaria. Bulgaria had fulfilled its part of the deal and President Purvanov had the legal right to grant them amnesty.
Bulgarian ambassador to the US Elena Poptodorova told The Sofia Echo reporter Yana Moyseeva that, regarding the intervention of France in the case: Everything is a matter of accumulation. The baby is not born on the second month () In this case, the circumstances had to be right. In the moment when Mrs Sarkozy was in Libya, the main negotiator on the US side was constantly on the phone, talking to Libyan foreign minister (Abdel Rahman) Shalgham. The resolution of the case now was preceded by a number of discussions and negotiations by various organisations. Nothing happens by itself.
Let Libya take care of its own situation, Poptodorova said when asked what could be the Libyan reaction to President Purvanovs amnesty order.
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said that the medics case resolution had become possible because the EU supported Bulgaria. The case grew from a matter between Bulgaria and Libya to a matter between Libya and the EU, he said, as quoted by Focus.
The Cabinet will discuss all questions related to the medics during its summit, including their health insurance.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Libyan officials as saying that all Libyan conditions for the release of the medics were completed. The case was closed, the source said.
Libya received guarantees of normalised relations and partnership with European countries. The HIV-infected children will be treated and the hospital in Benghazi, where the infection took place, will be modernised.
