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Libya's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor convicted of infecting 400 Libyan children with AIDS under their care.
They were arrested in 1999 and 50 children have died since then.
Libyan prosecutors claimed that the doctor and the nurses infected the children in an experiment to find a cure for AIDS.
But respected international experts testifying for the defense say that it is the poor hygiene in Libyan hospitals and not the doctors that are to be blamed.
They say that the HIV strain was present in the hospitals even before the doctor’s arrival in Libya due to unhygienic conditions.
The Libyan high judicial council is scheduled to review the case on Monday. But there are guarded hopes that a deal for their release could be reached out of court.
Through the years, the doctor and nurses have insisted on their innocence and the nurses have always said they held out hope that they could be released.
The Bulgarian nurse says, "No matter what people say, I am simply innocent, that's all I have to say."
The nurse adds, "My optimism has never left me. From the very first day I knew I would go back home, I just didn't want it to take so long."
On the other side, a children's medical aid foundation headed by Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi's son has reached a deal with the families of the victims to help fund their children's treatment.
But it's not clear if the Bulgarian government will accept the deal. Bulgaria has said it wants to help care for the children. But it can't accept a deal that implies the nurses' guilt.
If the nurses are released, it will surely anger the families of the sick children who want them to repent for their children's tragedy.
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