Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Agence France Presse (12.19.06) - Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Afaf Geblawi
The medics have been jailed in Libya since 1999. Their first trial ended with death sentences in 2004; this verdict was overturned on appeal in December 2005 by Libya's Supreme Court, which ordered the retrial. This ended today as the death sentences were imposed.
Defense attorney Othman Bizanti said he would file an appeal with the Supreme Court, a last legal recourse.
Libya's justice minister suggested the case may not be over. "Libyan justice offers the accused the possibility of a complete revision of the case. The Supreme Court can modify, reduce, or annul the verdict," Ali al-Hasnawi told a press conference.
In November, an editorial published by The Lancet cited independent scientific evidence indicating the children were infected before the medics arrived at the hospital. Defense attorneys had argued the same.
"Today's decision turns a blind eye to the science and evidence that points clearly to the fact that those children were infected well before the medical workers arrived at the hospital," the World Medical Association and International Council of Nurses said in a joint statement.
Relatives of the children danced and shouted on hearing the verdict. Outside, security forces fired weapons into the air to maintain control of a crowd of relatives who carried banners and portraits of the children.
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