President of the EU Committee of Regions Michel Delebarre expressed in a letter his support for the five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for intentional HIV infection in Libya.

After their EU entry, Bulgaria and Romania became inseparable part of the union, Delebarre said. The union condemned the decision of the court in Tripoli with which it confirmed on December 19 2006 the previously issued death sentences of the nurses and a Palestinian medic.

The EU Committee of Regions opposed the death sentence, which needed to banned to guarantee human dignity, Delebarre said as quoted by Bulgarian National Radio.

Alongside other institutions the committee called for the freedom of the nurses. Scientific evidence already proved the nurses were innocent, Delebarre said.

EU understood the tragedy of the families of the HIV-infected children, the letter said. All efforts to free the nurses should also focus on providing aid for the treatment of the children.

The union already provided 2.5 million euro for technical and medical aid for the victims of the infection, said Delebarre.