Brussels, 19 December 2006 (ITUC Online): The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and its European counterpart the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) have written jointly to Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi to protest at the death sentences passed on five Bulgarian nurses, Kristiana Vulcheva, Nasya Nenova, Valentina Siropulo, Valya Chervensashka and Snezhana Dimitrova, and Palestinian doctor Ashraf al-Haiui.

The six medical workers were found guilty on Tuesday of deliberately infecting some 400 children with the HIV virus despite clear evidence that the children were exposed to the virus before the medics began to work at the Benghazi hospital concerned and against a background of alleged torture and rape of the accused during their detention.

The ITUC and ETUC General Secretaries Guy Ryder and John Monks expressed shock and dismay at the denial of due justice in their letter to President Qadaffi, and called upon him to ensure that basic human rights, dignity and international standards of justice are extended to the six workers.

Libya’s Supreme Court, which had previously ordered a retrial when the accused were initially found guilty one year ago, is expected to review Tuesday’s court decision.

Join Letter: http://www.etuc.org/IMG/pdf/211206_ETUC_ITUC_Protest.pdf

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