Bulgarian nurses file appeal in Libya HIV case

A Libyan appeals court on Tuesday heard an appeal by five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor convicted and sentenced to death for allegedly infecting nearly 400 Libyan children with HIV, Agence France-Presse reports. A Libyan court last year convicted the health workers, held in prison for the past six years, despite testimony from AIDS experts--including HIV codiscoverer Luc Montagnier--that the infections occurred before the health workers arrived at the hospital in Benghazi. The appeals court will announce on May 31 whether it will fully consider the appeal or if it will confirm the death sentences. U.S. and European leaders are pressing Libyan leader Mu'ammar Gadhafi to release the prisoners.