Doc. 11125
20 January 2007

Serious human rights violations in Libya – inhuman treatment of Bulgarian medical staff
Recommendation 1726 (2005)

Reply from the Committee of Ministers
adopted at the 984^th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (17-18 January 2007)

1.       The Committee of Ministers, in a statement issued by the Chair on 13 May 2004, expressed its grave concern regarding the verdict and the capital sentence passed on 6 May 2004 on five Bulgarian nationals and one Palestinian national accused of deliberately infecting children with the HIV virus.

2.       It is particularly alarmed by the fact that the death penalties, after being overturned by the Libyan Supreme Court on 25 December 2005, were subsequently confirmed on the 19 December 2006 by the Libyan Court.

3.       The Committee of Ministers shares the deep concern of the Parliamentary Assembly about the fate of the Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor. It recognises that the judicial process is still in progress and urges the Libyan authorities to do their utmost to guarantee a fair trial and to speed up the final settlement of the case leading to their prompt release.

4.       The Committee of Ministers joins with the Assembly in reiterating in the strongest terms its rejection of the death penalty in all circumstances. It calls upon the Libyan authorities to seek a just and humane solution in full conformity with the international legal standards by which Libya is bound.

5.       The Committee of Ministers also recognises the plight of the infected Libyan children and their families in Benghazi and in this context declares its strong support for the European Union’s Action Plan as a constructive expression of international solidarity with the Libyan children and their families.

6.       The Committee of Ministers will continue to closely monitor the further development of the case and remains strongly committed to the achievement of a just final solution.