The Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry welcomed the decision by Libya to extradite five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to Bulgaria ministry spokesman Ján Škoda told the TASR newswire on Tuesday.
This act of mercy, an extradition on humanitarian grounds, demonstrates that targeted diplomatic efforts by the European Union (including Slovakia) have been successful, said Škoda.
The six medical workers, who arrived in Bulgaria on Tuesday, and were immediately pardoned by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, spent eight years in a Libyan jail after being found guilty of infecting some 400 Libyan children with the HIV virus. The convictions provoked widespread condemnation outside Libya.
The ministry again expressed solidarity with the victims of the tragedy, and said that Slovakia is ready to contribute as much as possible towards alleviating the suffering of people who are HIV-positive.
Compiled by Jana Liptáková from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
