Bulgaria demands fast appeal in Libyan AIDS case

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria insisted Friday on a speedy appeal for five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death in an AIDS case in Libya, a case that has triggered outrage in the country.

Libya, meanwhile, denounced Western criticism of the case, saying it is politically motivated and biased against Muslim values.

Diplomatic relations between the countries have become strained since 1999 when the medical workers were jailed on charges that they intentionally spread HIV to more than 400 children at a hospital in Benghazi during what Libya claims was a botched experiment to find a cure for AIDS.

Fifty children have died; the rest have been treated in Europe.

The tensions intensified this month when the nurses and doctor were sentenced to death despite scientific evidence the children had the virus before the medical workers arrived in Libya.

Bulgarian civil groups and media outlets have called for economic sanctions or the breaking of diplomatic relations with Tripoli. The EU and U.S. have also criticized the verdict.

The six plan to appeal their convictions and sentences before Libya's Supreme Court.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said Friday he had summoned the acting head of the Libyan Embassy in Sofia to defend Bulgarian reactions to the verdict and demand a speedy appeal process.

"We will follow and exhaust all means of defense that Libya's judiciary offers," he told reporters. "This, however, should happen as quickly as possible."

Libya's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Thursday attacking criticism of the case.

"The positions expressed by the Bulgarian government, the European Union and others are political stances which are biased toward certain values which are not far away from inciting wars, conflicts, hostilities between civilizations and religions," the statement said.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had tried to reach a deal by which Bulgaria would compensate the victims, a proposal Sofia has rejected.