Jan. 17
BULGARIA:
Nurses on death row demand compensation
5 Bulgarian nurses on death row in Libya in a controversial Aids case are
demanding compensation for being tortured in detention, Bulgarian national
television reported on Monday.
The nurses' Libyan lawyer, Othmane al-Bizanthi, told bTV each of them was
demanding a million dinars (about R3-million) from the Libyan authorities.
The lawyer said a case against 10 police officers accused by the women of
torturing them would begin in Libya on January 25.
The nurses were sentenced to death, along with a Palestinian doctor, in
May last year on charges of infecting 380 children with Aids and causing
the death of 46 others while working in the city's children's hospital in
Benghazi in northern Libya.
They were tortured into confessing
At their trial in May, after 5 years in detention, all six defendants
pleaded not guilty. 2 of the nurses and the doctor said during the trial
that they were tortured into confessing.
Medical experts testified at the trial that the HIV infections were the
result of poor hygiene at the hospital and that the epidemic was under way
before the nurses arrived.
The families of three Libyan children who have died of AIDS recently
brought compensation claims against the Bulgarian government.
The Libyan government has also said it would drop the case against the
five nurses if Sofia paid out 10 million euros for every child infected
with the virus at the hospital.
The Bulgarian government has rejected the proposal. Foreign Minister
Solomon Passy said Saturday however that Bulgaria was ready to give
humanitarian help to Libya to cope with the Aids epidemic.
(sources: SAPA & Agence France-Presse)
THAILAND:
Govt denies plans to broadcast executions over Internet
The Department of Corrections today dismissed allegations from the Amnesty
International that it was planning to show pictures of death row prisoners
being executed on the Internet, noting that such practices violated the
constitution.
While acknowledging that the department would publicize pictures of death
row prisoners entering the execution chamber, department chief Nathee
Chitsawang stressed that the details of the executions themselves would
not be open to public scrutiny.
Thailand currently has 65 death row prisoners, of whom 5 are women.
The majority of cases involve drug dealing, theft and murder.
Mr. Nathees words come after a damning report from the Amnesty
International Thailand over the departments plans to show pictures of
death row prisoners entering the execution chamber as a means of deterring
potential criminals.
The Thai branch of the international charity has consistently condemned
the kingdoms regime of capital punishment, noting that it violates the 1st
Buddhist precept against killing.
Amnesty also points out in its report that the majority of criminals in
Thailand come from poor families without access to the Internet, and that
the departments publication of pictures of death row prisoners via the
Internet will, thus, fail to act as an effective deterrent.
According to a source from the department, prisoners in Bang Khwang
central prison are preparing a petition to protest the Internet plans,
which they describe as a severe violation of personal rights.
The prisoners have noted that death row prisoners would effectively be
punished twice for their crimes, while their relatives would be humiliated
by the publicity.
But the permanent secretary for justice, Mr. Kitti Limchaikij, today said
that the prisoners concerns were due to a 'misunderstanding', and pointed
out that the publication of prison conditions helped ensure that prison
officials did not violate prisoners rights.
Echoing comments that the executions themselves would not be shown on the
Internet, he pointed out that such practices would violate the
constitution.
However, the Department of Corrections looks set to go ahead with plans to
publish pictures of living conditions on death row, following widespread
concern that prisoners are being tortured.
"I want officials and inmates who are breaking prison rules to know that
there are outsiders constantly watching them," Mr. Nathee said.
"This applies whether the inmates engage in secret gambling, or whether
officials are being lax in their duty to inspect and prevent banned goods
from entering the prison. At the same time, the public will see the
difficult way of life in jail, which will help act as a deterrent against
breaking the law."
(source: TNA)
