Brussels, 24 July 2007: The International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC) today welcomed with relief the news of the release
of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor by the Libyan
authorities. The seven have been in jail since 1999, charged and
subsequently sentenced to death for allegedly infecting 393 children
with the HIV/AIDS virus. They all returned to Bulgaria today, including
the Palestinian doctor granted Bulgarian citizenship in order to
facilitate his extradition.

Both the ITUC and its founding organisations the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation
of Labour (WCL) have consistently denounced the prosecution and
sentencing of the six health professionals, protesting to Libyan
leader Muammar Qaddafi at the complete disregard for the international
expertise demonstrating their innocence and the use of torture to
extract confessions, as well as the appalling conditions in which they
were held.

ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder today said he was "delighted that this
eight-year ordeal is finally over" for the six innocent medical
professionals and their families. He also praised the patient work of
European Union Commission Benita Ferrero-Waldner in her negotiations
with Libya, and above all the work to improve conditions for the
hundreds of children with HIV/Aids.

Founded on 1 November 2006, the ITUC represents 168 million workers in
153 countries and territories and has 305 national affiliates.

For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on +32 2
224 0204 or +32 476 621 018.