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Politician in HIV/AIDS legal battle

    JOHANNESBURG

    South African politician Patricia de Lille has come under fire by three women living with HIV/AIDS, local newspaper The Mercury reported on Thursday.

    The women are suing de Lille for exposing their HIV-positive status by naming them in her biography, published in March last year.

    In response, de Lille said the women had participated in controversial clinical tests for a new HIV/AIDS drug, after which their names were disclosed in a report by the University of Pretoria.

    "Maybe the university should be sued. I am an AIDS activist and would never deliberately disclose someone's HIV status," de Lille said.

    The women are seeking a court order to have their names removed from copies of the biography that have not yet been sold.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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