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Negotiations With Libya Draw Fire

Human rights groups say payment of millions amounts to ransom

By Heather McPherson,  Newser User

Posted Jul 25, 2007 12:02 PM CDT

(Newser) – The negotiations that led to the release of the medics imprisoned in Libya are under fire from human rights organizations, which say the payments to the families of children infected with HIV amount to ransom money, the Times reports. Libya ignored due process, took hostages, tortured and raped them, and was essentially rewarded, the rights groups contend.

Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were sentenced to die before their terms were commuted; they were freed shortly after. Upon their return to Sofia yesterday, one of the nurses said she had contemplated suicide during her 8 years in custody. AN EU official involved in the negotiations hailed the resolution as a step forward in EU-Libyan relations.

Bulgarian nurses Valentina Manolova Siropulo, left, and Nasia Stoitcheva Nenova center, look on as Snezhana Ivanova Dimitrova hugs an unidentified man  after their arrival in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Tuesday, July 24, 2007. Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were pardoned by President Georgi Parvanov on arrival in Sofia...
Bulgarian nurses Valentina Manolova Siropulo, left, and Nasia Stoitcheva Nenova center, look on as Snezhana Ivanova Dimitrova hugs an unidentified man after their arrival in the Bulgarian capital Sofia,...   (Associated Press)
Left to right, Bulgarian nurses Snezhana Dimitrova, Cristiana Valcheva, Valya Chervenyashka, Palestinian doctor Ashraf Hajouj, and Bulgarian nurses Valentina Siropulo and Nasya Nenova await the verdict of their trial in a courtroom in Tripoli, Libya in this Dec. 19, 2006 file photo. A settlement has been reached in the case...
Left to right, Bulgarian nurses Snezhana Dimitrova, Cristiana Valcheva, Valya Chervenyashka, Palestinian doctor Ashraf Hajouj, and Bulgarian nurses Valentina Siropulo and Nasya Nenova await the verdict...   (Associated Press)
Snezhana Dimitrova, front right, one of the five Bulgarian nurses attends before a news conference in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, July, 25, 2007.  All were pardoned by President Georgi Parvanov on arrival in Sofia on Tuesday, after spending 8 years in prison in Libya. The medics were sentenced to...
Snezhana Dimitrova, front right, one of the five Bulgarian nurses attends before a news conference in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, July, 25, 2007. All were pardoned by President Georgi Parvanov...   (Associated Press)
Kristiana Valcheva one of the five Bulgarian nurses attends before a news conference in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, July, 25, 2007.  All were pardoned by President Georgi Parvanov on arrival in Sofia on Tuesday, after spending 8 years in prison in Libya. The medics were sentenced to life in...
Kristiana Valcheva one of the five Bulgarian nurses attends before a news conference in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, July, 25, 2007. All were pardoned by President Georgi Parvanov on arrival...   (Associated Press)
Nasya Nenova  one of the five Bulgarian nurses attends before a news conference in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, July, 25, 2007.  All were pardoned by President Georgi Parvanov on arrival in Sofia on Tuesday, after spending 8 years in prison in Libya. The medics were sentenced to life in...
Nasya Nenova one of the five Bulgarian nurses attends before a news conference in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, July, 25, 2007. All were pardoned by President Georgi Parvanov on arrival in...   (Associated Press)
Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov,  left, France's first lady Cecilia Sarkozy, center, and French presidential aide Claude Gueant , right,  after Sarkozy arrived with the 5 Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor  in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Tuesday, July 24, 2007. The medics were all  pardoned by  Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov on...
Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov, left, France's first lady Cecilia Sarkozy, center, and French presidential aide Claude Gueant , right, after Sarkozy arrived with the 5 Bulgarian nurses and the...   (Associated Press)
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