US embassy cable - 04TRIPOLI27

C O N F I D E N T I A L TRIPOLI 000027 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  12/12/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, BU, LY, XA, XF, XI 
SUBJECT: (C) BULGARIAN MEDICS UPDATE 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Gregory L. Berry, Chief of Mission, USLO, 
Tripoli. REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
1. (C) Status of Medics:  The five Bulgarian medics sentenced to 
death for infecting over 400 Libyan children with HIV-tainted 
blood in a Benghazi hospital are being kept relatively secluded, 
the Bulgarian Embassy's Dimitar Dimitrov told us December 7. 
Dimitrov personally speculates this is because members of a 
Committee on Prison Reform (possibly part of a Libyan initiative 
to review internal procedures in a number of areas, including 
prisons) have been visiting the prison and the prison 
authorities do not want committee members to have contact with 
the Bulgarians.  Libyan authorities turned Dimitrov away on 
December 7 when he tried to visit the medics; in the past, 
prison authorities had allowed Dimitrov to visit more or less 
whenever he wished.  Meanwhile, the Palestinian doctor who also 
received the death sentence has been moved to newer area of the 
Abu Salim Prison where all six are being held.  Libyan 
authorities allowed his family (four sisters and mother) to 
visit him within the past few days; his mother had not seen him 
for some time, since a prison guard insulted her and she refused 
to return to the prison. 
 
2.  (C) State of Appeal: The medics' appeal case is now pending 
with the Neeaba Office (which means "prosecution"), a 
consultative body within the Supreme Court that reviews all the 
evidence for a trial and appeal, examines the case profile, and 
prepares a report that is presented to judges for review, 
Dimitrov reported. Libyan prosecutors are still protesting the 
acquittal of one of the Bulgarians, a doctor who is married to 
one of the convicted medics.  According to Dimitrov, the 
acquitted doctor could be asked to return to prison, which could 
cause serious problems since he is currently living in the 
Bulgarian Embassy in Tripoli.  (Note:  The doctor remains in 
Tripoli because of his wife, and because Libyan authorities have 
refused to grant him an exit visa to leave Libya pending the 
outcome of the appeal.  End note.) 
 
3.  (C) Bulgarian Embassy Reaction to Recent Libyan Public 
Statements:  The Bulgarian government was surprised by the 
December 5 news reports of Libyan FM Shalgam's statement that 
Libya would review the death penalty for the Bulgarian medics if 
Bulgaria provides compensation to the victim's families, 
Dimitrov said.  He reiterated Bulgaria's position that payment 
of compensation is not an option, since Bulgaria will not agree 
to deal directly with the families, and because it is an 
admission of guilt.  The Bulgarians view Qadhafi son Saif 
al-Islam's statement in a December 9 New York Times article that 
"no one is going to execute anyone" as unofficial. 
 
4.  (C) Libyan Demands to EU:  Ramadan Al Fituri, head of the 
association representing the families of the 426 HIV-infected 
children, presented settlement demands to the European 
Commission representatives currently visiting Libya.  According 
to Dimitrov, the families want the Bulgarian government to build 
a hospital and provide compensation, medical care and full 
support for the children for the rest of their lives.  Dimitrov 
says the Bulgarian government did not directly receive a copy of 
the letter. 
 
 
BERRY