Bulgaria to compensate Libyan families

Bulgaria to compensate Libyan families

The six have been sentenced to death in the case, which has caused international outcry. Libya's Supreme Judiciary Council is set to review the case on Monday, and could approve or reject the convictions or set lighter sentences.

Any settlement with the families could affect the judicial decision.

France's national newspaper Le Figaro, without citing sources, reported that each family would get US$1mn. It quoted Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam as saying, "The money will be financed by international contributions in the form of debt payments."

"The concerned countries are Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia and the Czech Republic," he was quoted as saying. Seif al-Islam leads a foundation that has steered negotiations over the case.

It was not clear what debt payments he was referring to. His foundation could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.

The Gadhafi International Foundation for Charity Associations said Tuesday that the families of the HIV-infected children reached an agreement with the nurses and doctor, but would not say whether it involved financial compensation.

On Friday, Bulgaria's foreign minister voiced optimism that a settlement was close that could result in the six being pardoned. Ivailo Kalfin reiterated, however, that Bulgaria would not pay compensation to the families of HIV-infected children because that would imply the Bulgarians were guilty.

Croatian President Stjepan Mesić's spokeswoman, Danijela Barišić, denied Saturday that there was any deal for Croatia to compensate the Libyan families.

Mesić was in Bulgaria this week, but the two presidents "did not talk at all" about the possible settlement and Croatia's involvement in financial compensation, she said. "This has nothing to do with us," she said.

All six medical workers maintain they are innocent, and experts and outside scientific reports have said the children were infected as a result of unhygienic conditions in the hospital.

Libya is under intense international pressure to free the six, imprisoned since 1999. The case has become a sticking point in Libya's attempts to rebuild ties with the United States and Europe.

Libyan officials have said the families' acceptance of a compensation settlement was key to resolving the legal deadlock, as it would satisfy Islamic law and allow the death sentence to be withdrawn.

French first lady Cecilia Sarkozy and the presidential chief of staff, Claude Gueant, were in Libya this week, meeting with Moammar Gadhafi on Thursday and the convicted nurses and families of the children.

A French lawyer for the nurses, Emmanuel Petit, welcomed the surprise visit. "It proves that the European Union and particularly French diplomacy is active," she was quoted by Le Figaro as saying. "That should allow us to accelerate the process."