Bulgarian Medics Freed

After eight long years of negotiations the five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor accused of infecting children with HIV have been released from their prison in Libya. The six medics, including the Palestinian doctor who was granted Bulgarian citizenship to assure he would be part of any deal the government struck, have always maintained their innocence, despite reports of torture and threats of the death penalty.

The six medics were greeted by a crowd of family, well-wishers, and Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov in Sofia today. Despite the long years of prison, the nurses and doctor had kept hope alive that they would be freed, particularly as they were sure of their innocence. The medics were accused of deliberately infecting 438 children in the Libyan hospital at which they were working, 56 of whom have since died. The medics' "confessions" of the act came as a result of torture, as the infections had already started at the hospital before the medics even arrived, and were likely the result of poor hygiene in Libya's run-down health facilities.

During the eight years of their imprisonment, the Bulgarian government had been working towards their release, with representatives making trips to Libya. But the trigger may have been Bulgaria's entry into the European Union this year, as the release is seen as part of a deal on improving Libya-EU ties, and even involved French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the final negotiations. The negotiations included a compensation deal of $1 million per child, with both the EU and France contributing to the fund.