LIBYA ASKS FOR FRENCH HELP ON NURSES’ TRIAL, BULGARIA PRAYS FOR MIRACLE

09:03 Mon 14 May 2007

Libyan officials and members of the team of France’s new president Nicolas Sarkozy discussed the case of the five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian medic sentenced to death for intentional HIV infection in Libya.

The results of the discussion were considered positive, officials said as quoted by French Le Journal du Dimanche.

On the night of his electoral victory, Sarkozy said that France would support the nurses.

Libya hinted several times over the past weeks that it wanted to end the nurses’ case and needed French assistance, the newspaper said.

The nurses are sentenced to death for deliberate HIV infection of more than 420 children in the town of Benghazi.

People in Bulgaria showed openly their support for the nurses after the confirmation of the death sentences. Thousands flocked in front of Sofia’s Alexander Nevski cathedral on May 12 to pray for the nurses, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Three Virgin Mary icons considered miraculous were brought to Sofia form three of the biggest monasteries in the country, AFP said.

While Bulgaria was praying for its nurses, the father of the Palestinian medic, also sentenced to death, applied for Bulgarian citizenship for his son, Iranian news agency IRNA said.

Comments

Comments by Mickey Grant - 07:34 14 May 2007
	Regarding Libya hinting that it wanted to end the Bulgarian case ... the need of French assistance. All Libya needs to do is SIMPLY END THE CASE. FREE THE NURSES. No one needs assistance to do that. Instead, does this request actually mean that Libya needs French assistance in terms of "(France) paying Libya some money, a ransom" so it can then state those wonderful words, THE NURSES ARE NOW FREE? I hope a miracle happens, but I also hope that the world recognizes Libya's method of international extortion which is an extension of kaddafi's behavior as a terrorist and dictator.