Bulgarian Foreign Minister Rejects "Blood Money" Deal for Medical Workers Held in Libya

On Thursday at the UN, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said his nation will not pay "blood money" to the families of hundreds of Libyan children infected with HIV. Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor held by Libya since 1999 were convicted in 2004 of deliberately infecting the hospitalized children and are under sentence of death. Islamic law says the death penalty can be avoided through the negotiation of a "diya," or blood money payment, to the families of victims. "[The medics] are not guilty, that is very clear. You pay blood money if you have guilt," said Kalfin, who met with his Libyan counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly gathering. The two, however, reported no progress in the matter. The medics' appeal is to be heard in November.

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