Euroscience calls for support for convicted health workers in Libya

Jan 14 2007

Euroscience calls on other academic and scientific organisations to protest at the conviction of six foreign medical workers, by a Libyan court of conspiring to deliberately inject 426 Libyan children with HIV virus.

On December 19, 2006 six foreign medical workers, Kristiyana Valtcheva, Nasya Nenova, Valentina Siropulo, Valya Chervenyashka, Snezhana Dimitrova and Ashraf al-Hajuj were convicted and sentenced to death by firing squad by a Libyan court. The six health workers were accused of conspiring to deliberately inject 426 Libyan children with HIV virus. This is the second time that a Libyan court has sentenced the 6 health workers to death: an earlier death sentence was overturned by the Libyan Supreme Court in 2005.

Euroscience is a grass-roots organisation which representing European scientists of all disciplines. Professor Enric Banda, President of Euroscience in calling for a reaction from all scientists said, “It is a tragedy that children have been infected by HIV virus at a hospital in Libya, but it is against justice to accuse a group of health workers for this incident when strong scientific evidence shows that they could not be responsible for the origin of this infection”.

A scientific report presented by some of the world most prominent experts in HIV, Professor Luc Montagnier and Prof. Vittorio Colizzi proves that the HIV was already present in Libya in 1997, long before the Bulgarian health workers arrived, pointing at poor hygiene at the hospital as the real cause of the infections. Other scientific data published online by Nature, 6 December, 2006 and backed by international forensic experts also present a firm alibi for the six medical workers facing the death penalty in Libya.

Euroscience asks other academic and scientific organisations to react fast against this injustice by public statements in national and international media or by writing directly to: His Excellency Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi, Leader of the Revolution, Office of the Leader of the Revolution, Tripoli, Libya.