The medics' first trial lasted almost six years

LIBYA. GADDAFI'S SON SAYS BULGARIAN NURSES TO BE SPARED EXECUTION

January 29, 2007: Libya will not execute five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death last month, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said in a newspaper interview, calling the verdicts unfair.
Libyan court sentenced the six for intentionally infecting hundreds of children with the HIV virus in a case which started eight years ago and that has triggered widespread international concern about its fairness.
Speaking to the Bulgarian daily newspaper 24 Chasa, Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, said a solution would be found soon to save the six and satisfy families of the infected children, but he gave no details.
"There will be no executions. I hope there will be a happy end soon ... My father is also against the executions," said Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's leading envoy.
"The case went in the wrong direction from the very beginning. There were many manipulations in the original files, many errors ... This is why we should seek a compromise," Saif al-Islam said, adding Tripoli had already discussed a plan with Germany and France.
Saif al-Islam said the outbreak was due to negligence, not conspiracy, but Bulgaria, Libya and the European Union should meet families' demands and help with the children's treatment. (Sources: Reuters, 29/01/2007)