Libya seeks Bulgarian 'blood money'

Tripoli is urging Bulgaria to offer "blood money" to families of hundreds of Libyan children infected with HIV, to save five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for causing the infections, a senior diplomat said.

But Bulgaria again refused a deal, saying the nurses were innocent and should be released.

Mohamed Zawi, the Libyan ambassador to London, said he outlined the proposal during a meeting with top British and US diplomats in Tripoli on Wednesday.

"The parties in this issue are very clear. They are the Bulgarian government and the children's families. The two sides can reach a solution which will have a positive impact on the case, according to sharia (Muslim law)," Mr Zawi said.

"Libya as a state is not party to this case." Libya's supreme court will rule in November on an appeal by the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor.

The medics, convicted last year for deliberately infecting more than 400 children at a hospital in Benghazi, insist they are innocent and that the only evidence against them is confessions extracted under torture.

The United States and the European Union have slammed the verdicts, which have impeded Tripoli's efforts to emerge from decades of diplomatic isolation and renew ties with the West.

Bulgaria, whose new Socialist-led government took office this week, said payment was out of the question and pointed to evidence from HIV experts who have testified the outbreak began before the nurses arrived in Benghazi.

"There is evidence, including the opinions of world experts, which do not confirm the guilt of the Bulgarian nurses," said incoming Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin. "There are no grounds for Bulgaria to enter talks for compensation."

He said the new government would soon call for new measures with the help of Washington and the EU to solve the dispute, which could include humanitarian aid for the infected children.

"I don't want to raise false expectations, but we will think of what more can be done," he said.

Libyan officials said the involvement of Mr Zawi, whom they describe as being instrumental in negotiations with London and Washington over Lockerbie and prohibited weapons, underscored Libya's eagerness to reach a settlement and clear one of the last hurdles for a full return to the international community.

The officials said that if Sofia offers compensation and the families accept the "blood money", the death verdicts would be turned into less harsh sentences based on Muslim law.

"Zawi met with Britain and US representatives because Britain is chairing the European Union and the US is a strong voice backing Sofia on the case of the nurses," a senior Libyan official told Reuters.