Sofia, Bulgaria
Five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor held in Libya for eight years on murder charges flew home to Bulgaria this week. Libya agreed to release the six—convicted on what most observers considered trumped-up charges that they infected children with HIV—after French President Nicolas Sarkozy struck a deal with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. Under the agreement, each of the 438 Libyan children who contracted AIDS in an unsanitary Libyan hospital will receive $1 million, the hospital will get modernized, and Libya was promised E.U. trade ties. Sarkozy, elected two months ago, made the Bulgarians’ cause a priority. “They were ‘French’ because they were unjustly accused, and were suffering,” he said. “They had to be gotten out of there, and that’s what we did.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.