/ 18 September 2000

BULGARIAN ‘AIDS MURDERERS’ WAIT AGAIN

THE trial of six Bulgarians, who face the death penalty if found guilty of deliberately infecting nearly 400 Libyan children with AIDS, has been postponed again – the fifth postponement since it opened in February. The six Bulgarians, five nurses and a doctor, as well as a Palestinian doctor, stand accused of “triggering an AIDS epidemic by injecting contaminated products” and premeditated murder designed “to sap Libya’s strength”. Eight Libyans have been accused of “negligence” in the same case. The trial was postponed following requests from lawyers to allow them to better acquaint themselves with the charges. The defence has requested that the court authorise a hearing of the French professor Jean-Luc Montagnier, who discovered the AIDS virus. – AFP