The pardon Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov granted to the six Bulgarian nurses, accused of deliberate HIV infection in Libya, “put the end of a eight-year-long drama,” which the medics, their families, Bulgaria and the country’s friends went through, Purvanov said in a official statement to the nation.

“I signed the order [for amnesty] in the knowledge of the innocence of our medics” and in the understanding that the only fair option would be for the medics to be pronounced not guilty.

Unfortunately Libya’s court did not take into consideration the “irrefutable judicial and scientific proof” of the medics’ innocence. The death sentence, as well as its commutation to life imprisonment, covered up the real causes of the HIV infection in Benghazi.

Bulgaria paid a high price for the liberation of the medics. It endured vulgar accusations of involvement in an international conspiracy and an assault on its image.

Profound analysis would ensue, Purvanov said. Contradictory comments could follow. However, no one should forget that Bulgaria already had the authority and the strength to form and defend positions in the international community.

Purvanov said that Bulgarian authorities had failed to evaluate property the seriousness of the case when it emerged in 1999. Still, Bulgaria had spared no effort to resolve the problem in recent years, he said.

He thanked Bulgarian and foreign media, Bulgaria’s European partners, the US, the Balkan states, Russia and “not a few” Arab countries.

Purvanov said also that he felt “clear human compassion” towards the HIV infected children and their families. He said that he was certain that Bulgaria and the EU would continue their efforts regarding the medical treatment of the children.