Libya-EU ties improve after medics' release

The six had been imprisoned for deliberately infecting children at a Libyan hospital with HIV and are now free in Bulgaria.

They were released earlier this week following years of negotiation.

The five nurses and a Palestinian-born doctor, who served eight years of the life sentences they received, had always maintained they were innocent.

All six were pardoned on their arrival in Sofia by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.

Europe and the United States had made it clear to Libya that resolving their situation was the key to improving ties.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli, where he is expected to sign agreements on bilateral co-operation, including security, immigration, energy and scientific research.

Further to this, President Sarkozy wants more support to stem the flow of illegal immigrants crossing into southern Europe from North Africa.

The six medics were flown from Tripoli to Sofia early on Tuesday at the end of a three-day trip to Libya by Sarkozy's wife Cecilia and the EU's External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Ferrero-Waldner said it marked "a new page in the history of relations between the EU and Libya".

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the EU could now begin to normalise trade and political ties with Libya.

President Sarkozy and the EU denied making any financial payment to secure the medics' release.

However, the families of the 438 infected children reportedly agreed last week to a compensation deal worth $1m (£500,000) per child, channelled through the Gaddafi Foundation, a charity run by Seif al-Islam, the Libyan leader's son.

The medics were convicted of deliberately injecting the 438 children with HIV-tainted blood. Fifty six of the children have since died.

The six, who had been in prison since 1999, say they were tortured to confess.

Foreign experts say the infections started before the medics arrived at the hospital, and are more likely to have been a result of poor hygiene.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews