Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico discussed with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who is on an official one-day visit to Slovakia, the case of the five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor charged with having deliberately infected Libyan children with HIV. Mr. Fico reacted to information in the media that some countries, including Slovakia, are allegedly contemplating forgiving Libya's old debts and thus contributing to reimbursement of the families and the infected Libyan children. In return for the compensation, these countries allegedly hope that the Libyan courts might commute the original death sentence for the medical workers. "With regard to Slovakia's contribution to the fund for Libyan children, nothing has been agreed upon yet. The government will be able to provide correct information only after there is a clear agreement on how Libya wants to pay off its debt to Slovakia and what portion of that debt Slovakia will provide in contribution to treatment of children suffering from AIDS," said Mr. Fico. He pointed out that nothing has been done about this debt for the last 23 years, but now there is a real chance that Slovakia might get part of this money back.
The Slovak prime minister believes that the case of the five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor will be settled soon. He hopes that everybody involved in some way in the case will accept a decision to release those people from prison. Mr. Prodi added that commuting of the verdict for medical workers could have been expected and symbolically represents the final act in the whole process.
The Libyan highest judicial body decided on Tuesday to commute the death sentences of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to life imprisonment.
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