Defense lawyers
seek testimony in Libyan AIDS trial

Defense attorneys for five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV in a Libyan hospital are asking the court to allow international AIDS experts to testify on behalf of the health workers. The lawyers say Libyan officials provided inaccurate forensic evidence during the trial that they intend to refute with the testimony of renowned AIDS experts. The medical workers, imprisoned since 1999, were convicted in 2004 of infecting the children and sentenced to death, but a new trial was ordered at the end of last year. AIDS experts, including HIV founder Luc Montagnier, testified at the original trial that the HIV infections occurred at the hospital before the health workers arrived there and were likely due to poor sanitation and the re-use of medical equipment. The health workers say they are innocent of the charges and claim that Libyan officials tortured them to wring false confessions from them. The retrial began in May but was delayed twice before resuming this week. The judge this week adjourned the retrial until July 4. (The Advocate)