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Death penalty for medics in AIDS case

    JOHANNESBURG

    A Libyan court has sentenced to death by firing squad five Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian doctor charged with deliberately infecting children with HIV.

    The accused were convicted of having deliberately infected 426 Libyan children with HIV-contaminated blood products at a hospital in the coastal city of Benghazi.

    The verdict has sparked fierce reactions that are expected to damage Libya's intention to improve its ties with the West.

    European Commission president Romano Prodi was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying: "The commission is extremely preoccupied and deeply disappointed by the court's ruling. The commission remains in contact with the Libyan authorities, and will urge them to reconsider the case to reach a satisfactory situation at the soonest."

    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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