site.btaHead of State Calls for Release of Former French President Sarkozy

President Rumen Radev has called for the release of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Radev made the call during a ceremony at which he presented the President’s Honorary Badge to Anthony Layden, former British ambassador to Libya from 2002 to 2006, in recognition of his contribution to Bulgaria, his personal commitment and professional efforts in securing the release of the Bulgarian nurses imprisoned in Libya.

“Allow me to use this solemn occasion to pay another tribute of recognition to a remarkable act of solidarity, to a French politician, who at the time was the President of France, and who, together with his wife, made great efforts for the release of our medics,” Radev said.

“Today he is in prison and needs our support and compassion, through which we can express our genuine gratitude. That is why I support the declarations made by Presidents Petar Stoyanov and Georgi Parvanov, as well as by former ministers, politicians, and public figures who have taken up the cause of his release as their duty. I also appeal to European politicians and public figures — for the release of President Sarkozy,” the head of State said.

Since the end of October, Nicolas Sarkozy has been serving a five-year prison sentence. He was President of France from 2007 to 2012, Reuters reported. The court ordered Sarkozy’s imprisonment after finding him guilty of conspiring to solicit campaign funding from Libya.

The Bulgarian medics were arrested in Benghazi on February 9, 1999, and spent a total of 2,755 days in Libyan prisons. The group consisted of Bulgarian nurses Kristiyana Valcheva, Nasya Nenova, Valentina Siropulo, Valya Chervenyashka, Snezhana Dimitrova, and Palestinian doctor Ashraf al-Hajuj (who had already acquired Bulgarian citizenship at the time), along with Dr Zdravko Georgiev. They returned to Bulgaria on July 24, 2007.

On July 24, 2007, the medics flew to Sofia on a French government plane, accompanied by Cecilia Sarkozy, wife of then President Nicolas Sarkozy, and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy.