(Release at 1800 GMT)

Dec 6 (Reuters) - Scientists have produced new evidence that casts doubts on charges against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of deliberately infecting 426 Libyan children with HIV in 1998.

Following is a chronology of key events in the case:

Feb. 1999 - Nineteen Bulgarian medical workers in Libya are detained in investigation into how children in a Benghazi hospital became infected with HIV. Thirteen are later freed.

Feb. 2000 - Trial of six Bulgarians, a Palestinian doctor and nine Libyans opens at Tripoli People's Court. They are accused of deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV-contaminated blood products as part of conspiracy by foreign intelligence to undermine Libya. Libyan defendants are charged with negligence.

June 2, 2001 - Defendants plead not guilty. Two Bulgarian nurses retract confessions, alleging they were tortured. Libya denies this.

Feb. 17, 2002 - People's Court, which tries national security cases, returns trial to ordinary court citing insufficient evidence that defendants acted against Libyan security.

Sept. 3, 2003 - French doctor Luc Montagnier, who first detected HIV, testifies the epidemic broke out a year before the arrival of the Bulgarians.

Sept. 8 - Libyan prosecutors demand death sentences for the six Bulgarians and Palestinian, and demand nine Libyan officers charged with torturing the medics be tried separately.

May 6, 2004 - Libyan court sentences five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor to death for deliberately infecting the 426 children. The Bulgarian doctor is acquitted. The nine Libyans are acquitted. Torture charges against the Libyan officers are transferred to a Tripoli court. Bulgaria, the EU and United States condemn the death sentences as "absurd".

Dec. 5 - Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam says will discuss overturning sentences if Bulgaria offers compensation. Bulgaria refuses, saying that would be an admission of guilt.

May 28, 2005 - Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov meets HIV-infected children in Benghazi and the nurses in a Tripoli prison.

June 7 - A Tripoli court acquits nine Libyan policemen and a doctor of torturing the nurses.

Dec. 23 - Bulgaria, Libya, the EU and the U.S. agree to set up fund to help the Libyan children and their families.

Dec 25 - Supreme Court scraps death sentences against the nurses and the Palestinian doctor, sends the case back to a lower court for retrial.

Jan 21, 2006 - Families demand total of 4.4 billion euros ($5.5 billion) from donors to end the standoff.

July 4 - During retrial, defendants again deny charges.

Sept. 12 - Lawyers demand that the infected children should each receive 15 million dinars ($11.6 million) in compensation.

Oct. 31 - Defence says in retrial that poor hygiene and neglect led to the infections.

Nov. 4 - Court says verdict will be delivered on Dec. 19.

Dec. 6 - A team of international scientists who reconstructed the history of the virus from samples from the children have shown the subtype of HIV began infecting patients before the foreign medical team arrived.

AlertNet news is provided by

Delicio.us  |   Digg  |   NewsVine  |   Reddit                                                                                  Permalink