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Doctor/nurse AIDS case goes into overtime

    JOHANNESBURG
    A new trial of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of infecting more than 400 Libyan children with HIV began in Tripoli on Thursday with a judge refusing bail. The nurses and doctor have been in jail since 1999 on charges of spreading the virus that causes AIDS to children at a hospital in Libyan port of Benghazi during a botched experiment to find a cure for the disease. However, some Western nations blamed the infections on poor hygiene in Libyan hospitals and accused the authorities of laying the charges as a cover-up. According to the Associated Press, the decision to grant a new trial was taken shortly after US, European and Libyan negotiators reached a deal to set up a fund to help the families of the infected children.

    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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