Sumario: EU Parliament condemns Libyan court death sentence on Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor (18 January 2007: Strasbourg)
The European Union Parliament (EP) adopted a joint resolution with 567 votes in favour, 1 against and 7 abstentions condemning the verdict of the Criminal Court in Libya on 19 December 2006, convicting, in a re-trial, and sentencing to death five Bulgarian nurses, Kristiana Vulcheva, Nasya Nenova, Valentina Siropulo, Valya Chervenyashka and Snezhana Dimitrova, and one Palestinian doctor, Ashraf al-Haiui, who have already spent eight years in prison in connection with the
1999 HIV/AIDS case at the Benghazi hospital.
On 9 February 1999 the Libyan authorities detained a number of Bulgarian medics working at the 'Al-Fatih' hospital in Benghazi, and whereas on 7 February 2000 a trial against six Bulgarian nationals, one Palestinian and nine Libyans started at the Libyan People's Court on a charge of deliberately infecting several hundred children with the HIV virus.
MEPs reiterate their radical opposition to the death penalty and recall that the EU considers that the abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights. The EP stresses, at the same time, that the EU has now moved beyond this commitment and now espouses abolition of capital punishment in and third countries. The EP reiterates its serious concern with regard to the basis on which the accused persons were prosecuted,
their treatment while in custody and the lengthy delays in the process. Parliament underlines that, as from January 2007, the Benghazi trial directly concerns five citizens of the European Union.
The EP invites the Libyan authorities concerned to take the necessary measures to review and annul the death sentence, and open the way to an early resolution of the case on a humanitarian basis, thus meeting the necessary prerequisites for the continuation of the common policy of engagement with Libya. MEPs call on Colonel Kaddafi to exercise his powers and bring about the release of the imprisoned medics as a matter of urgency. The EP also calls on the Commission and the Council to take
action with the Libyan Government to secure an early release of the imprisoned medics. MEPs expresses their full solidarity with the victims of the HIV/AIDS infection in Benghazi and notes the measures taken by the international community to provide assistance to the affected children.
MEPs call on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to continue to provide assistance for the implementation of the HIV Action Plan and to support the Benghazi International Fund, in order to alleviate the suffering of the infected children and their families and to help the Libyan authorities to prevent and fight the spread of the HIV infection in the country. Finally, the EP calls on the Commission and the Council to consider, in the absence of a positive resolution of the case, a
revision of the common policy of engagement with Libya in all relevant fields, as the Union deems appropriate.
| Arriba |
Estados Miembros de la Union Europea
Alertas por e-mail
Enviar por e-mail
Imprimir esta página