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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Sarkozy to boost EU-Libya links | Sarkozy to boost EU-Libya links |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| French President Nicolas Sarkozy is travelling to Tripoli to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a day after the release of six foreign medics. | French President Nicolas Sarkozy is travelling to Tripoli to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a day after the release of six foreign medics. |
| The meeting is being seen as a sign of the normalisation of ties between Libya and the EU following the release. | The meeting is being seen as a sign of the normalisation of ties between Libya and the EU following the release. |
| The medical workers were held for eight years for infecting children with HIV. | |
| The five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian-born doctor, who had their death sentences commuted to life in jail, always denied they were guilty. | |
| All six were pardoned on their arrival in Sofia by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov. | All six were pardoned on their arrival in Sofia by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov. |
| Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said Bulgaria could write off Libya's debts of $54m (£27m) owed to Sofia as a "humanitarian gesture". | |
| However, he said the cancellation of the debt should not be viewed as a ransom or admission of the medical workers' guilt. | |
| Immigration support | Immigration support |
| Europe and the US had made it clear to Libya that resolving their situation was the key to improving ties. | Europe and the US had made it clear to Libya that resolving their situation was the key to improving ties. |
| Mr Sarkozy wants to further Libyan help in the fight against terrorism, says the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby in Paris. | Mr Sarkozy wants to further Libyan help in the fight against terrorism, says the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby in Paris. |
| HAVE YOUR SAY Gaddafi has used these poor innocent medics as bargaining chips to get something out of the EU... And he succeeded. Marc Saurel, Montreal, Canada href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=6971&edition=${editionCode}">Have your say: Libya medics href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=6971&edition=1">Profiles: The medics | |
| And he wants more support in stemming the flow of illegal immigrants crossing into southern Europe from North Africa. | |
| He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux. | He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux. |
| The Libyan Foreign Minister, Abdullah Shalqam, said that Mr Sarkozy's visit would give them a chance to discuss the French president's proposal for a Mediterranean union. | The Libyan Foreign Minister, Abdullah Shalqam, said that Mr Sarkozy's visit would give them a chance to discuss the French president's proposal for a Mediterranean union. |
| Mr Sarkozy had made securing the medics' freedom a foreign policy priority since taking office in May. | Mr Sarkozy had made securing the medics' freedom a foreign policy priority since taking office in May. |
| His wife, Cecilia Sarkozy, played a last-minute role in securing that release, which followed an agreement on normalising relations with the EU. | His wife, Cecilia Sarkozy, played a last-minute role in securing that release, which followed an agreement on normalising relations with the EU. |
| The US-based rights' group Human Rights Watch welcomed their release, but warned that torture and other rights abuses in Libya remained a concern. | The US-based rights' group Human Rights Watch welcomed their release, but warned that torture and other rights abuses in Libya remained a concern. |
| "The absence of a free press, the mistreatment of detainees and the need for legal reform require urgent international attention," the group said in a statement. | "The absence of a free press, the mistreatment of detainees and the need for legal reform require urgent international attention," the group said in a statement. |
| The foreign medics were convicted of deliberately injecting 438 children with HIV-tainted blood. Fifty-six of the children have since died. | |
| The six, who had been in prison since 1999, say they were tortured to confess. | |
| Bulgaria, its allies in the EU and the US say Libya used the case to deflect criticism from its run-down health service. |