BALL IN EU COURT OVER MEDICS FATE: LIBYA

Libya said that the ball is in Europe’s court over the fate of six foreign medics reprieved from a death sentence for infecting children with the AIDS virus but who are still anxiously waiting to return home after eight years behind bars. Libya’s highest judicial body commuted to life in prison the death sentences of the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor after a multimillion-dollar compensation deal was hammered out with victims’ families. A further obstacle was cleared when another Libyan court cleared the six of defamation, a charge brought by a senior police officer after they claimed their initial “confessions” had been extracted under torture. But Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelrahaman Shalgham said the case was still “not closed” and that Tripoli was still awaiting guarantees regarding the treatment of the infected children. “The ball is in the court of Bulgaria and the European Union,” he said. The six medics, who have been on death row since 2004, could serve out their sentences in Bulgaria, as the two countries have an extradition treaty and the Palestinian was recently granted Bulgarian citizenship. Shalgham told journalists that talks will take place shortly on how existing EU commitments will be met, without providing any further details.