KRISTIYANA VULCHEVA, as well as the
other four Bulgarian nurses, was part of the group of 23 Bulgarians that
were detained on February 9, 1999, in Benghazi after the AIDS outbreak
in the local pediatric hospital.
Vulcheva is the wife of Dr Zdravko Georgiev. She went to work in Libya
without the intermediation of any recruitment agency. According to the
prosecution, containers with AIDS-infected blood plasma were uncovered
at Vulcheva’s home.
NASSYA NENOVA, 35, has 16 years of
experience as a nurse. She used to work at the hospital in Sliven where
her husband heads the intensive care unit. During the trial, defence lawyer
Vladimir Sheitanov requested that Nenova’s medical records from
her April 12, 1999, and April 21-29, 1999 stay at the central hospital
in Tripoli are presented in court.
VALENTINA SIROPOULO, a Pazardjik
local, has 20 years of experience as a nurse at the intensive care unit
of the local hospital. The Expomed company recruited her to work in Libya.
VALYA CHERVENYASHKA comes for m the
town of Byala Slatina. She, too, was recruited by Expomed. Based on her
accounts, Chervenyashka’s husband Emil Ouzounov claims that the Bulgarian
medics were tortured during their preliminary custody. His statements
led to the submission to the Bulgarian Embassy in Tripoli in January 2001
of a verbal demarche by the Libyan side. On May 30, 2000, Ouzounov tried
to force his way into the building of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry and
made threats against then foreign minister Nadezhda Mihailova.
Expomed recruited another one of the nurses as well: Gabrovo local SNEZHANA
DIMITROVA. She started work at the Benghazi hospital in 1998. Dimitrova
is in a very bad physical condition.
Dr ZDRAVKO GEORGIEV has worked at
the pediatric ward of the hospital in his home town of Silistra. He has
also worked in Mozambique. He worked in Benghazi between 1991 and 1995.
Since 1998 until his arrest he worked for a South Korean company. Upon
hearing that his wife has been arrested he left for Benghazi where
he was detained. He has been having health problems during most of his
stay in prison.
Palestinian ASHRAF AL-HADJUDJ is
defendant No.1 in the case. The most important charges pressed against
the Bulgarians are based on his confessions. Hadjudj’s counsel is Tahumi
Tumi, one of Libya’s most prominent lawyers.
Following are the names of the LIBYAN DEFENDANTS:
ATIA AT TAHIR ALI AL-JUMA (director of the Benghazi hospital)
HALIFA MILYAD MOHAMMED AL SHERIF (head of hospital ward)
ABDUL AZIS HUSEIN MOHAMMED SHEMBESH (head of hospital ward)
ABDUL MENAM AHMED MOHAMMED AL SHERIF (head of hospital ward)
IDRIS MAATUK MOHAMMED AL AMARI
SALIM IBRAHIM SULEYMAN ABE GARARA
MANSUR AL MANSUR SALEH AL MAUHUB
NUREDDIN ABDULHAMID HALIL DAGMAN
SAAD MUSA SULEYMAN AL AMRUNI (assistant secretary of the health care sector
in Benghazi).
The Libyan defendants have been released on bail. Al Amruni missed several
court hearings but finally turned up for the February 10, 2001 hearing.
He was staying at Tripoli’s most expensive hotel, Kibara.
 Sofia, July 24, 2007 The Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor arrived at Sofia Airport into the hugs of family and friends. BTA photo by Peter Krustev |
 Sofia, July 24, 2007 The Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor arrived at Sofia Airport into the hugs of family and friends. BTA photo by Peter Krustev |
 Sofia, July 24, 2007 The Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor arrived at Sofia Airport into the hugs of family and friends. BTA photo by Peter Krustev |
 Tripoli, May 28, 2005. President Georgi Purvanov, who is visiting Libya, met and talked with the five Bulgarian nurses convicted in Libya. The meeting took place at the Judicial Police General Directorate. Pressphoto BTA. Photograph: Tihomir Penov |
 Benghazi, May 20, 2004. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy visited the Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death at the prison in Benghazi, Libya, last night. Pressphoto BTA |
 Benghaz, February 16, 2004. The Benghazi Criminal Court is hearing the case of the Bulgarian medics, charged with deliberate HIV infection of 400 children. Lawyer Plamen Yalnuzov argues his case before the Criminal Court in Benghazi. Pressphoto BT. Photograph: Nikolai Zhelyazkov |
 Libya, August 26, 2002. The six Bulgarian medics in Libya will be brought before the Criminal Court. Pressphoto BTA. Archives 2002. |
 Tripoli, February 17, 2002. Libya's People's Court is expected to render judgment today in the matter of Case 44/99. Nurses Kristiyana Vulcheva, Nassya Nenova, Valya Chervenyashka, Valentina Siropoulo, Snezhana Dimitrova and Dr Zdravko Georgiev are charged with deliberate infection of 393 Libyan children with the virus that causes AIDS, a conspiracy against the Libyan State, and acts conflicting with the norms and traditions in Libya. Photo: The Bulgarian defendants pose for a souvenir photo with their relatives. Pressphoto BTA. Photograph: Zoya Hristova |