March 31 BULGARIA/LIBYA: Bulgarian nurses' death penalty clash strands ship in Malta ---- Libya blocked access to cargo ship following Bulgarian boycott The international clash following a Libyan courts shocking death sentence to Bulgarian nurses accused of intentionally infecting 400 children with HIV, has left a Bulgarian cargo ship stranded in the Grand Harbour. The Bulgarian ship 'Smolyan' was on its way to Tripoli, the Libyan capital, with a cargo of metal rods, when the ship captain was informed that Libyan authorities will not be allowing the ship to enter the Libyan ports. The Libyan governments move comes weeks after a number of Bulgarian shipping organisations, led by the Bulgarian Association of Ships Brokers and Agents (BASBA), "decided to boycott Libyan ships and cargoes...[and to] refuse to serve ships flying Libyan flag and represent Libyan principals on international freight market," as indicated by a letter sent by the same association. The BASBA boycott is part of an international initiative condemning the Libyan court's decision, following a 7-year trial, that ended by condemming the 5 Bulgarion nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death, for allegedly infecting over 400 children with HIV in a Benghazi hospital. Even the EU has condemned the sentence. Bulgarian government's orders On Thursday, the Bulgarian ship scheduled to unload in the Tripoli port, entered Maltese waters, following instructions from the Bulgarian government. "The diversion was a result of a letter sent by the consular department at the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry. The letter announced that the Bulgarian embassy in Libya could not ensure the ships unobstracted entry into the Libyan port" captain Hristo Donev, the director general of the ships company 'Navigation Maritime Bulgare', told the FOCUS Information Agency. Throughout Friday, the Bulgarian ship laid moored at Laboratory Wharf, Corradino and was expected to unload its cargo of metal rods on quay, to be later reloaded on another ship that would then transport the cargo to its original destination. But the 1993 built, 'Smolyan', is expected to remain in Malta at least until Sunday, due to the 'Regatta' boat racing activities to be held on Saturday (a Maltese national holiday), sources at the harbour told maltastar.com. HIV spread by lack of hygiene, experts say In the meantime, the Bulgarian government, who is insisting that the 5 nurses are innocent, has formally asked Libya to explain why it is stopping Bulgarian ships from entering its ports. Libyan courts accused the six medical workers of intentionally infecting over 400 children with HIV, 40 of whom died, to find a cure to the AIDS disease. But the nurses, backed by numerous experts and international organisations, are maintaining innocence. A number of experts, including Professor Luk Montanie, who discovered the HIV virus, testified that the children were infected due to poor hygiene conditions in the hospital. Moreover, the defence lawyers also gave proof that the children were infected before the nurses arrived in Libya. But last December, the court surprised the world by putting the nurses, and the Palestinian medic, to death row. Politically charged The court case was also politically charged, when the Libyan Leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, accused the health workers of acting on orders from the CIA and the Israeli secret service, Mossad, an allegation which was later withdrawn. Last January, Gaddafi linked the nurses' death sentence to the lifetime imprisonment of Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, the Libyan accused with the Lockerbie bombing in Scotland. Bulgarian newspapers quoted the Libyan leader saying "Libya called for Al Megrahi's freedom the imprisonment of Al Megrahi meant that the Bulgarian nurses were not going to be freed either." George Michael in aid of nurses' campaign The maritime dispute comes on the same days as an international coalition for the freedom of the Bulgarian nurses started meeting in Paris, France. The coalition, 'You are not alone' aims to bring widespread international support for the nurses' freedom, through petitions, international conferences, and other events. British singer George Michael is the first international celebrity to support the coalition. He will be giving a conference in aid of the nurses' freedom campaign in Bulgaria, next May. And in a bid to help the nurses gain their freedom, a Bulgarian civil rights group nominated them to become candidates for the upcoming European Parliament elections in Bulgaria, following the country's EU membership last January. But the Bulgarian parliament did not accept the nomination. "The populist statements that the nurses' death sentences could be changed because of the nomination were inhumane the proposal for the nomination harmed Bulgarias position that the nurses were innocent" Bulgarian MPs argued, as quoted by the Sophia Echo news website. (source: Malta Star) UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Woman appeals against death penalty A woman who persuaded her lover and his 2 friends to kill her abusive husband has appealed the death penalty, according to court records. The husband, a police officer, was stabbed to death by 3 men on a lonely stretch of the Sharjah Corniche. The woman, identified as K.A., had asked her husband to take her there late in the night. She was under 21 years of age at that time and the 3 men were aged under 21 and 17 years. The Emirati lover and his two friends, one of them a Bangladeshi, held the husband's hands and legs and was stabbed three times in the chest. The knife was thrown away in an open sewer. Police quickly arrested the wife and the 3 accused. The wife told police that she did not ask her lover to kill her husband, but that she only wanted him to frighten and hit him. She claimed that she disliked her husband because he used to yell at her. The victim's family has asked the court to put the killers to death and refused the blood money [Diya]. The victim's mother had asked her family before she passed away not to pardon the killer who took her son's life. (source: Gulf News)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide
Rick Halperin Sat, 31 Mar 2007 14:18:02 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin