Recommendation
1726 (2005)1
Serious
human rights violations in Libya – Inhuman treatment of Bulgarian
medical staff
1.
Five nurses of Bulgarian nationality – Kristiana Vulcheva, Nassya
Nenova, Valentina Siropoulo, Valya Chervenyachka and Snejana Dimitrova – were
arrested by the Libyan police on 9 February 1999. They are accused
of deliberately causing an epidemic by injecting some 426 children
at the Al-Fateh Hospital in Benghazi with the Aids virus. Charged with
premeditated murder for having deliberately contaminated the children
with the Aids virus, they were sentenced to death on 6 May 2004, together
with a Palestinian doctor, Dr Ashraf al-Hajuj. The Committee of Ministers
and the Parliamentary Assembly severely condemned this verdict which
is contrary to the fundamental values they uphold. The Libyan Supreme
Court, with which an appeal has been lodged on points of law, will
deliver its judgment on 15 November 2005.
2.
The Parliamentary Assembly is deeply concerned about the fate of the
five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor, who have spent over
six and a half years in Libyan prisons. It categorically condemns the
barbaric way in which they were treated in the first few months after
their arrest and the torture and ill-treatment to which they were subjected.
It considers that there is no proof of their guilt and that they are
being used as scapegoats for a dilapidated Libyan health system. The
Assembly is shocked by the attitude of hatred towards them in public
opinion, fuelled by certain sections of the Libyan leadership and media
which have stirred up public resentment against these five women and
this man.
3.
The Assembly notes the following:
3.1.
distinguished specialists, testifying under oath at their trial, exonerated
the nurses and the doctor, showing clearly that the infection had broken
out in 1997 at Al-Fateh Paediatric Hospital in Benghazi, in other words
over a year before the Bulgarians had come to work there, and that
it continued after their arrest; they concluded that there had been
a series of accidental nosocomial infections owing to the failure to
comply with standards of hygiene, to neglect and to bad medical practices; 3.2.
one of the nurses never even worked at the Benghazi paediatric hospital; 3.3.
the experts proved that the storage conditions of the bottles of blood
plasma used as prosecution evidence were such as to preclude any conclusive
biological analysis; 3.4.
the numerous breaches of Libyan law (torture, procedural irregularities,
etc.) also militate in favour of the nurses’ innocence.
4.
The Assembly thus concludes that the Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian
doctor should be regarded as completely innocent.
5.
The Libyan authorities, sheltering behind the independence of their
country’s judicial system, take note of the judgments handed down
by the Libyan courts, in which the nurses were found guilty and convicted
of the crimes of poisoning and homicide, while the Libyans accused
of torture were acquitted for lack of evidence. They consider that
the payment by Bulgaria of compensation to the families and the provision
of free care for the contaminated children in European hospitals are
essential prerequisites for any progress on the nurses’ case.
The Bulgarian authorities have categorically rejected all of Libya’s
financial demands, refusing to buy the release of the nurses by paying
compensation to the Libyan victims, as this would be tantamount to
recognising the nurses’ guilt and, beyond that, the Bulgarian
State’s responsibility.
6.
The matter before the Assembly, which is a source of tension in Libya’s
relations with western countries, is complex. But however complex it
may be, it first of all involves two painful tragedies: the plight
of some 426 Libyan children contaminated with the Aids virus, 51 of
whom have died so far, and the ordeal of five Bulgarian nurses and
a Palestinian doctor, who are innocent.
7.
The Assembly expresses its compassion for the Libyan children contaminated
with the Aids virus and its sympathy with their families. It welcomes
the efforts by the European Union and certain states, foremost among
them Italy, which have made it possible to bring under control the
epidemic that had broken out in the country eight years previously.
It strongly supports the Action Plan launched by the European Commission
in November 2004 in view of co-ordinating the humanitarian assistance
to the infected children.
8.
The sick children are now getting treatment. The death sentence passed
on five women who are clearly innocent of the crimes of which they
are accused in no way relieves the suffering of the children and their
families. Libya has nothing to gain by adding a second tragedy to the
first.
9.
Notwithstanding the efforts over the last year to reintegrate Libya
into the international community, the lifting by the United States
of the main economic and trade sanctions, the lifting by the European
Union in October 2004 of the arms embargo, the signing of agreements
on compensation for the victims of terrorist attacks and the willingness
displayed by the Libyan authorities to open up and move closer to Europe,
as reflected in the visit by Colonel Gaddafi to Brussels in April 2004,
no favourable outcome has yet been found to the nurses’ and the
Palestinian doctor’s plight.
10.
The Assembly reaffirms its complete opposition to capital punishment,
which has no place in the penal systems of modern, civilised societies.
The death penalty, even applied to persons found guilty of the most
heinous crimes, is a serious violation of universally recognised human
rights. The Assembly firmly condemns the execution by Libya on 15 July
2005 of two Turkish nationals who had been sentenced to death. It calls
on the Libyan authorities to act swiftly to abolish capital punishment
and immediately place a moratorium on executions.
11.
The Assembly asks the Committee of Ministers to:
11.1.
call solemnly on the Libyan authorities to:
11.1.1.
show goodwill and, in a spirit of constructive dialogue, settle the
case of the Bulgarian medical team as quickly as possible and in
full conformity with the internationally recognised legal norms by
which Libya is bound;
11.1.2.
release the nurses and the Palestinian doctor or, failing that, implement
the judicial procedures through the Supreme Court to guarantee a
fair trial so that their innocence is recognised and they be acquitted;
11.1.3. secure
full respect for the rights of the defence and, to this end, take
scrupulous care to ensure that the duly appointed international
lawyers are able to provide their clients with effective assistance,
guarantee them regular access to their clients, access to the files
and ensure that visas are issued to them in good time;
11.1.4.
speedily conduct a serious and thorough investigation into the allegations
of torture and ill-treatment of the five nurses and the Palestinian
doctor;
11.1.5.
adhere to the universally recognised fundamental values of protection
of human rights and preservation of human dignity and in particular
act swiftly to abolish capital punishment and immediately place a
moratorium on executions;
11.1.6.
sign and ratify the United Nations optional Protocol to the Convention
against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment;
11.1.7.
allow Dr Zdravko Georgiev, a Bulgarian doctor and the husband of
one of the nurses, to leave Libya;
11.2.
call on the member states to:
11.2.1.
resolutely support the European Union’s action plan, which is
an act of solidarity with the contaminated Libyan children, through
financial or material contributions, in order to guarantee the rapid
provision of humanitarian assistance in Libya;
11.2.2.
establish a clear link between the continuation of the process of
Libya’s reintegration into the international community and the
satisfactory resolution of the Bulgarian nurses’ and the Palestinian
doctor’s fate;
11.2.3.
take action in all bilateral negotiations with Libya, including trade
negotiations, to facilitate a speedy settlement of the fate of the
Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor;
11.3.
encourage the Bulgarian Government to continue its dialogue with the
Libyan authorities and urge the newly-created Bulgarian NGO to speed
up its work with the victims’ families.
12.
In consideration of the decision
to be taken by the Libyan Supreme Court on 15
November 2005, in particular, the Assembly asks the President of the
Assembly to send a delegation to Libya to meet with the Libyan head
of state and to follow the court proceedings. It considers it useful
that its Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights continues to follow
the development of this issue and report to the Assembly in due time
when necessary.
1. Assembly
debate on 6 October 2005 (31st Sitting) (see Doc.
10677, report of the Committee
on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr Lloyd).
Text adopted by the Assembly on 6 October 2005 (31st Sitting).
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