TRIPOLI, Aug 8, 2006 (AFP) - The retrial of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of injecting hundreds of Libyan children with the AIDS virus was adjourned Tuesday until August 29.
When the hearing resumed amid strict security measures, Judge Mahmoud al-Howeissa again rejected a defence request that the accused be allowed free on bail.
The six, who were first detained in 1999, were condemned to death by firing squad in May 2004 after an initial trial in Benghazi in a case that has strained ties between Tripoli and Sofia.
The supreme court ordered a retrial after an appeal last December.
The nurses and doctor, who worked in a hospital in the eastern city of Benghazi, were accused of having infected 426 children with HIV, of whom 52 have since died of AIDS.
All six accused were present in court for Tuesday's hearing.
During police interrogations, two of the nurses apparently confessed but they later testified in court that they had done so under torture. All the defendants have asserted their innocence.
The court has consistently refused requests by the defence for bail, citing insufficient guarantees.
The retrial began on May 11, with hearings being held every 15 days.
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