The National Assembly called on the Libyan institutions not to allow the death sentences of the Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor to be carried out.
After it emerged that the Criminal Court in Tripoli had passed death sentences on the five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor, National Assembly Chairman Georgi Pirinski interrupted the regular break of Parliament's sitting on 19 December and issued a statement expressing the opinion of all National Representatives.
"We are shocked by today's judgement of the court in Tripoli in the case against the Bulgarian medics and the Palestinian doctor, we categorically condemn and resolutely reject the death sentences," Georgi Pirinski said. "The Court's absurd decision is based on obviously vitiated investigative procedures and records procured under duress, ignoring the incontestable legal and scientific evidence of the medics' innocence,“ he added.
"The protracting of the trial for eight years in a row, the repeated adjournment of court hearings, the refusal to hear witnesses for the defence, the disregard of the authoritative opinions of leading international experts on the AIDS epidemic bear witness to just one thing: a strong politicization of the trial,“ the National Assembly Chairman noted, speaking on behalf of all members. "The sentencing of innocent people to death covers up the real culprits and reasons for the AIDS epidemic in Benghazi and adds further to the tragedy of the infected Libyan children and their families,“ he added.
The statement presented by Georgi Pirinski notes that the Bulgarian side has proved so far that it is ready to do everything in its power to alleviate the suffering of the victims of the epidemic. "Today we reiterate our gratitude for the involvement and solidarity of our partners of the international community in their efforts to ensure justice for the falsely accused, as well as for their empathy with the tragedy of the victims,“ the statement reads.
"We express our profound conviction that such sentences cannot and should not be carried out, and we turn to the Libyan institutions with the urgent appeal not to allow this to happen," the National Assembly Chairman said. "We appeal on the entire international community to condemn the judgment of the court categorically and to join the appeal that the Libyan authorities immediately release the unjustly convicted Palestinian doctor and Bulgarian medics."
The National Assembly Chairman said that within hours the Bulgarian institutions are to coordinate the necessary steps, so as to secure the release of the innocently convicted. He called on the National Representatives to be ready to share in each step, to show solidarity with the innocently convicted and to express their unreserved conviction that the defendants are innocent and their categorical will that they must be released.