BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The Libyan Supreme Court on Sunday overturned death sentences against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who were sentenced to death for infecting over 400 children with the HIV virus.
The Supreme Court ordered the Benghazi criminal court, which previously issued the death ruling, to carry out a retrial.
The defendants did not attend the session. A date for the retrial was not immediately set.
The six were convicted and sentenced to death by firing squad by the Benghazi criminal court in May 2004 for infecting 426 Libyan children with AIDS by transfusing HIV-contaminated blood at a hospital in the northern Libyan port city of Benghazi. More than 50 of the children have died.
The nurses and the doctor said they were innocent and that their confessions were extracted under torture.
The high-profile case has caught international limelight and Bulgaria, the European Union (EU) and the United States, suspecting the poor hygiene in the hospital responsible for the massive infection, have made repeated appeals for the release of the six medics.
Tripoli, although turning down the appeals for the release, has suggested lifting the death sentences if Bulgaria helps to pay for aid and medical care for the HIV-infected children.
Bulgaria and Libya have agreed to set up a fund for the HIV-infected children in Libya as part of the international efforts to solve disputes.
(Agencies)
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