AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
EU NEWS FLASH

AI Index: MDE 19/008/2006 (Public)
19 December 2006

Amnesty International urges the European Union to pressure Libya to reconsider the death sentence of five nurses from Bulgaria and a Palestinian doctor convicted for infecting patients with HIV.

Opposing the death penalty on principle, the human rights organization is also greatly concerned about the fairness of this trial. It considers that the process has been gravely flawed from the start. In February 2004 Amnesty International delegates were told by the defendants that they were forced to confess under torture by electric shocks, beatings and suspension by the arms.

"The EU has a direct responsibility and must stand firm in this case," said Dick Oosting, Director of Amnesty International's EU Office.

"A justice system that imposes the death penalty after questionable trials also reinforces concerns about the EU's eagerness to cooperate with Libya in the fight against irregular migration", he added.

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