Condemned!

This afternoon in a courtroom in Tripoli, the 5 Bulgarian Nurses and one Palestinian doctor accused of deliberately infecting 500 children with AIDS were condemned to death. This verdict was reached in spite of international outrage and protest. They have been held for 7 years and torture was used to extract confessions out of them.
International medical and AIDS Research organizations have put forth definitive evidence that has proved that the defendants are innocent. In earlier posts, I listed the various studies by the Pasteur Institute in Paris which proved that the children were infected before the workers arrived in Libya as well as the variety of the virus as being a specific Northern African strain.
The general condition of the patients with accompanying hepatitis infections pointed directly to the hospitals faulty hygiene.
Protests today were lodged against the verdict by the French Foriegn Minister Douste-Blazy, The EU Justice Minister, Franco Frattini, the Government of Bulgaria, and Science groups all over the world.
The defense lawyer, Othman Bizanti was attacked outside the courtroom after announcing that he would appeal the decision.
This case is truly being used as an internal Libyan political ploy by Gadaffi who is extremely unpopular in the Bengazi region where the hospital is located. The charges are fueled by the xenophobic ignorance of the families of the victims who would rather blame outsiders than there own faulty medical system.
The only good thing that came from this decision today is that it brings world focus to an issue that has been gaining in the public eye. More people will learn the true facts of the case and demand that their government act to exert pressure on Libya.
To find out more details of the case and perhaps resources as to what you can do to make your self heard on this issue please check out the effect/measure blog link in the sidebar.