Several dozens of medical workers were arrested in Benghazi on 9 February 1999, 23 Bulgarians among them. Most of the people were released in a few days. Nurses Kristiana Valcheva, Nassy Nenova, Valentina Siropulo, Valya Chervenyashka and Snezhana Dimitrova, along with Dr. Zdravko Georgiev and Palestinian student in medicine Ashraf Ahmed Al Hajuj remained into custody. 

For about one year they were considered to be detained as witnesses only. In 2000, the medics faced charges for the deliberate infecting of over 400 Libyan children with the HIV virus, thus causing an epidemic of AIDS in Benghazi with the purpose of the Jamahiriya’s destabilization. There were four Bulgarian lawyers at the trial and a Libyan one.

The Bulgarian nurses began to work at the El-Fatih Children's Hospital in 1998, except for Kristiana Valcheva and her husband Dr. Zdravko Petrov, who worked in the desert. During the same year parents of children infected with AIDS invaded a healthcare conference and demanded the intervention of the state into the expanding crisis, while other sent complaints to the healthcare ministry. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi promised heavy penalties for the doers. 

However, documents testified on AIDS cases as of the beginning of the 1990s, as their number had grown over 1997 – 1998. The healthcare authorities hid from the public info on the poor hygiene in hospitals and the lack of trained personnel. So, the foreign medical workers were directly blamed for the situation. Though people said that nothing could be predicted in Libya, in that case Gaddafi wanted to reach a balance in the internal tension between the separate public groups, blackmailing the West at the same time.

The first trial of 1999 kicked off even without any notification for the Bulgarian party. It was ceased due to the lack of evidence and the medics said they were tortured to confess. In the meantime Libya withdrew its accusations in an alleged conspiracy with the CIA and MOSAD. However, a new case was opened in 2002 for the illegal testing of medicines and infection with HIV mutations. The world’s foremost HIV expert Luc Montagnier testified in court that the infections were due to bad hygiene at those hospitals registered before the defendants’ appearance there. 

Still, the Penal Court of Benghazi sentenced the 7 to death with the accusation of having deliberately infected over 400 children. Dr. Zdravko Georgiev was sentenced to 4 years in prison and deprived from civil rights for illegal operations with foreign currencies. In December 2006 and despite the pressure of the EU and the USA the death penalties were confirmed by the Tripoli Penal Court. 

After 8 years spent in prison the happy ending came on 24 July 2007. French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced then the agreement reached between France, the EU and Libya – the prisoners would be extradited. Cecilia Sarkozy, then wife of the president took part in the last series of negotiations as well. She remembers Gaddafi as a dark and brutal person that had to comply with the numerous interior fights between the separate groups in Libya.

Here is what Kristiana Valcheva recalls about the night when they were freed:

“The pilot of the plane informed us on the leaving of Libya’s air space and that was the true happiness we felt. Later on we landed on the Bulgarian airport, where our president was waiting for us. I have always seen the name Cecilia as “freedom”.”

After 2,910 days of a nightmare, then Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov issued a decree for the pardon of the Bulgarian medics. Four years later – in 2011 and after the start of the national protests in Libya ex-minister of justice said for Al-Jazeera that “only Gaddafi was to be blamed for the infecting of the Libyan children”.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev