Condoleezza Rice in Sofia

American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a visit to Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev last Wednesday the 9th of July 2008 in Sofia. During this trip the top U.S. diplomat accepted Bulgaria's highest honor for her assistance in the release of six medics from Libya.

These medics, including Dr. Ashraf-al-Hazouz, 38, and a nurse Snezhana Dimitrova, 55, met Rice at the U.S. Embassy in Sofia. The Palestinian doctor and five Bulgarian nurses went to Libya in the 90s to work in a pediatric hospital. In Libya they were accused of infecting Libyan children with AIDS, and were arrested in 1999 and sentenced twice to death.

Fifty of the children died, but AIDS experts speculate that the deaths were caused by infections picked up from unhygienic conditions at the hospital. In the end Libya gave in to international pressure for their release, partly to improve its relationship with the United States and to cooperate with a deal with the European Union to receive millions of dollars in aid. In order to facilitate an end to years of legal turmoil in the United States over Libya's alleged support of terrorism, a deal was also struck between European arms makers and Libya.

In July of 2007 the medics were finally returned to Bulgarian custody.