Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian were sentenced to death by firing squad in Libya on May 6th for deliberately infecting 400 children with the HIV virus. The sentence came after a trial which the European Union and non-government organizations as Amnesty In-ternational described as flawed.
   The Libyan court based its verdict solely on confessions of 2 of the nurses and a Palestin-ian doctor who were tortured into making these confessions during the investigation. The medics were beaten including falaqa (beatings on the soles of the feet) and beating with electric cables; subjected to sexual assault and extensive electric shocks; suspended from a height by the arms; they were blindfolded and threatened with barking dogs’ attacks. These confessions were later retracted. As of today the Libyan officers who tortured the nurses are not brought to justice …
   The Libyan court disregarded the report of expert witnesses, including the renowned French researcher Dr Luc Montagnier who first isolated the HIV virus. The report of Professor Montagnier showed that the infection had already begun before those accused started working at the Benghazi hospital, and continued to spread after they were arrested. The expert’s conclusion was that the epidemic was most likely caused by poor hygiene at the hospital.
   Instead the court accepted a report of a commission consisting of Libyan doctors who re-jected the Western expert's testimony and said the Bulgarians willfully infected the children with the virus through blood transfusions.

   According to Western diplomats the prosecutions arose because the authorities simply needed someone to blame for a tragedy which caused outrage in Libya.

   Colonel Gaddafi obviously needs scapegoats to take the blame of his government for the failures of the Libyan health system.

   Please help us save the lives of 5 INNOCENT people!