Libya's Case Against 6 Medics

In 1999, 19 doctors and nurses, were arrested in Libya for deliberately infecting over 400 Libyan children in the second largest city in Libya, Benghazi. On May 6, in 2004, 6 of the doctors, 5 Bulgarians and 1 Palestinian, were put on trial after being held in prison since 1999. After the trial, they were sentenced to death by firing squad. This caused a big uproar in the international community, primarily Europe and the United States, which felt that the doctors were being punished too harshly. The Libyan citizens were very happy about the verdict reached by the Justice System in their country. Justice Mr. Ali Al-Hissnawi was quoted by the Tripoli Post saying “The trial was fair and justice has been done for the sake of these 400 innocent kids.” In the case, each one of the accused admitted that at one point in their practice, they had deliberately infected the children. The United States were opposed to the verdict of the case and Colin Powell spoke saying “I assured the minister that the United States will continue to follow this matter very closely and do everything we can to bring pressure on the Libyan government to resolve this matter so these people are released and can return home.”

The first source I found about the issue was a newspaper from Libya itself known as the Tripoli Post. This source obviously contained a bias towards Libya and its citizens. When Tripoli describes the topic about the doctors, they consistently repeat the fact that there were 400 children who were infected, and mentioned that already 46 of the infected children had already diseased and were buried in a cemetery named the “AIDS’ Children Cemetery”. Later in the report, the writer interviews some of the families who live with the infected children. She explains that even with the doctors being prosecuted and sentenced to death, that she has still had an unbelievably hard time living the recent years with her child infected. That because of the virus, her child could not see their friends, see family members, go out, and do other things in a normal life because of the fear of infecting others and the other people afraid to also contract the disease. The report also mentions that it was the belief of Libya and its citizens that the infection was actually a conspiracy put on by the CIA and Israeli intelligence to experiment with the virus. The prosecution actually accused the doctors for following through with this experiment to find a cure for AIDS.

I find it very interesting to see the bias of this report throughout the article. They mention the children being infected numerous, to really appeal to the reader that the doctors truly are bad people and definitely purposefully infected these children. The writer even places a detail about the cemetery in which the children of the infection are being buried and the number of children that have already died from the infection. Towards the end of the article, the writer then mentions an interview he had with some of the family members of the infected children. Immediately after the interview with the family members, he quotes Colin Powell about how he and the United States are against the verdict decided by the Justice System of Libya. This is a convenient time to mention the other opinions of powerful countries. Immediately after he appeals with the family members affected, it makes the superpowers opposed look like bad guys also for siding for the doctors to be released.

The next article I found regarding this issue was from USA Today, it is interesting to see that this article has the complete opposite opinion about the same issue. The article begins with a short introduction mention that 6 doctors and nurses were sentenced to death because they were charged for deliberately infecting 400 children with AIDS. After the summary, the writer mentions that Libya’s citizens expressed a tremendous amount of joy because of the verdict of the trial. The article then mentions that a Western study about the issue had found that the infections occurred before the doctors being prosecuted even came to Libya. Apparently the study was released after the trial and was too late to really affect the decisions made in the case. The article mentions that the United States and Europe feel that the infections are the result unsanitary conditions at the Libyan hospitals and that Libya is using the 6 doctors as scapegoats to the situation. The United States and Europe also explained that this case’s result will put a lot of pressure on successfully rebuilding the trust between Libya and the West. The article quotes its Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy that France in opposed to the verdict of the trial and that his country itself is opposed to the death penalty as a whole. The article mentions right before this quote that already 150 of these children have been treated in France. The final portions of the article mention the evidence the defense is using and the studies held. The article finishing mentioning that Libya did ask for a compensation for the children infected to Bulgaria in an attempt to meet half way and that Bulgaria refused saying that this would mean they were admitting that they were guilty.

This article definitely shows the bias of the opinions of the western countries, although it does still display general information in favor of the prosecutors. This article seems to really appeal for the doctors who have been in prison for over 5 years and were wrongly accused. The article really seems to talk down about Libya as a regulated country blaming the infection on the cleanliness of the hospitals the outbreaks happened.

My third source was from the BBC, this source seems to be more moderate about the situation surprisingly. I find this surprising because the BBC is from Britain so based on the situation and the fact that Europe is opposed to the results of the trial I would expect the article to write more like it was a bad decision by the Libya Supreme Court. The BBC’s article begins with a brief summary of the mention, they mention the exact number of deaths reported from the infection as well as the exact number of children infected. During the summary, BBC then mentions what the defense lawyers are attempting to plea for the doctors, that they are scapegoats for the situation and that the infection began before the doctors were in Libya. The article also mentions that western countries were backing the defendants in the case. The BBC then follows by mentioning that it is unlikely that the leadership of Libya will make a public stand about the case. After this summary, the article then writes about the amount of celebration that happened from the decision of the case. The writer even interviews a sister in law of one of the doctors sentenced, quoting that she expected this decision. After the article mentions the celebrations, the article then follows with the details of the case, including the evidence from studies from different doctors and associations. The article ends with the matter that Libya did ask that 10 million euros be paid to each child infected and that Bulgaria had refused this proposal explaining that if they paid the compensation they would be admitting that they were guilty in this situation.

The BBC article seems to have the most central bias about the situation. They explain the details of the case, and the opinions of both sides. They even quote a indirect family member of one of the accused to believing that this decision was expected. I also found it interesting that both the BBC and USA today end their articles with the same piece of information, both seeming to make Bulgaria look like the bad person for not meeting Libya halfway for this issue.

My suggestion to the solution of the problem is that there should be another trial about the situation, with all of the evidence used in the case from both sides. All of the studies that were not used in the case before should be presented and these people given another appeal. The doctors have already been in jail for 5 years in a foreign country. With this case, there is a lot to be considered, from an international view, if Libya convicts these people they would not be trusted by the western countries, but if they do not convict these people, their own citizens would be extremely disappointed at their government.

Sources:
“Libyan Court Sentences Medics to Death for Infecting 400 Children with HIV.” The Tripoli Post.May 15, 2004. http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=108&archive=1.
“Libyan Court Convicts 6 Foreigners for Child AIDS Infection.” USAToday. Dec. 19, 2006. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-12-19-libya-hiv-case_x.htm.
“Libya Sentences Medics to Death.” BBCNews. Dec. 19, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6192599.stm.

Have Your Trip(oli) Here!

Come to Tripoli in Libya! Tripoli is the capitol of Libya and also the largest city in the country. Located right on coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Tripoli offers sand, sun, and sea. Enjoy a nice day on the coast or more! Historically this was a major trading post along the sea and is still to this day. Throughout history this city has been held by many different empires, including the Romans. Some of the city today is still built on the old foundations of the Roman Empire. The city has the influence of the Romans in the buildings as well as the architecture of the Muslims. The old city walls are still standing even and can be visited.

Tripoli has plenty of places to visit within the city. The Castle Museum is a great museum to visit that has great views of the city and contains the archaeology of the Phoenicians, Greek, Roman and Islamic periods. The Harbor Monument is located at the gates of the old city with restored buildings, homes, and a synagogue.

There are many other museums to visit to learn about the history of Libya and the surrounding region. This includes the Ethnotgraphic Museum, which has a collection of artifacts, and the Epigraphy Museum, which has inscriptions from the Phoenician and Roman periods.



This is an archway built in the 2nd century by the Romans.



A photo of the old city walls on the right.

Tripoli also has three different mosques in the city, the Karamanli Mosque, the En-Naqah Mosque, and the Gurgi Mosque, the most famous of the three being the Gurgi Mosque, because of the beautiful Turkish architecture. The Gurgi Mosque was built in 1833 by Yussef Gurgi.





A view from the inside the beautiful Gurgi Mosque.

If you want to learn about the history of ancient empires, see some great architecture that they have built, see the writing they had, then Tripoli is the place for you to visit. What better a place to visit then a city that was under the control of many different empires. Because of all the control it has been under, there is a lot of influence of many different regions. Along with that and the great weather and the beautiful Mediterranean Sea there is no reason not to visit Tripoli.

Sources:

Photo 1

Libyaonline.com. "Tripoli." 2007. http://www.libyaonline.com/tourism/details.php?id=4.

Photo 2

Frysinger, Galen. "Tripoli." http://www.galen-frysinger.com/North%20Africa/libya119.jpg.

Photo 3

KNBD. "Tripoli old city West wall and Corinthia Hotel." http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/7077697.jpg.

Photo 4

Gordontour. "Mosque exterior, Tripoli." 2008. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gordontour/2604137885.

Photo 5

Rimeco SA. "libyan-stamps.com." 2006. http://www.libyan-stamps.com/images2/x-TOUR-Tripoli5.jpg.

Sources for writing:

Frysinger, Galen. "Tripoli." http://www.galenfrysinger.com/tripoli_libya.htm.

Libyaonline.com. "Tripoli." http://www.libyaonline.com/tourism/details.php?id=4.

Tripoli, Capitol of Libya

Tripoli, the capitol of Libya, is the largest city in the country and is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (Frysinger). Tripoli began as a small trading depot (like other cities along the coast) for the Phoenicians along the Mediterranean Sea in the 12th century BC. In the 5th century BC the Phoenicians had extended their power and began to build up these trading posts. They settled in modern day Tripoli which was originally named Oea by the Phoenicians, along with two other cities in the area Labdah and Sabratah. This region was then called Tripolis, or “three cities,” (CountryStudies.us).

Later on in the 2nd century BC, Oea became owned by the Bebers briefly after the Punic Wars between Rome and the Phoenicians. The Berbers at this time were allies to the Romans and were given the city. Oea again was held under a different empire about 100 years later when Julius Caesar broke the alliance with the Berbers and annexed all of the territory they had given to Rome (CountryStudies.us). After Caesar gained control of Oea, he renamed the city Tripolitania (CountryStudies.us).

From about the 15th century AD until the 1800’s, Tripolitania was controlled by the Ottoman Empire and was still a major city for trade and had become an area affected by piracy. Again in the early 1900’s Tripolitania (renamed Tripoli) was given to Italy from Turkey as well as northern Libya. The Libyans attempted to fight the Italians and free themselves from control. But this would not happen until after World War II in 1951 (Infoplease.com).

Sources:

CountryStudies.us. “ Tripolitania and the Phoenicians.” http://countrystudies.us/libya/5.htm.

Frysinger, Galen. “People and Places of the World.” http://www.galenfrysinger.com/tripoli_libya.htm.

Infoplease.com. “Libya History.” 2008. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0859277.html.

Tripoli City Map

Sources:

First Picture

Travelpost.com. "Tripoli, Libya Travel Blogs." 2008. http://www.travelpost.com/AF/Libya/Tarabulus/Tripoli/map/7396925

Second Picture

Google.com. "Google Maps." 2008. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=tripoli+city+map&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7DKUS_en&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

General Info on Libya

Image taken from:

"MyTravelGuide."2005,http://www.mytravelguide.com/travel-tools/maps/North-Africa-map.php.

Image taken from:

"TangertTours."2008, http://www.tangertours.com.ly/aboutlibya/aboutlibya.html.

Image taken from:

"Bubl."2007, http://bubl.ac.uk/LINK/types/maps.htm.

History:

In ancient times, portions of Libya were controlled by many different ancient civilizations. The Phoenicians were known to have resided in eastern Libya and trade with other civilizations in the area that controlled parts of the land (Lost Civiliazations). The western part of Libya was controlled first by the Carthaginians and then taken under control of the Roman Empire in 46 BC (Infoplease). The eastern portion was named Cyrenaica and the western part of Libya was called Tripolitania. Tripolitania was held under the control of the Roman Empire until 436 AD in which it was taken over by the Vandals. Cyrenaica was taken from the Carthaginians in the 1 BC by the Roman Empire until 642 AD when the Arabs gained control of the land (Pearson Education).


In the 16th century all of Libya was taken under control of the Ottoman Empire and remained under there control until it was again invaded in 1911 by Italy (US Dept. of State). In 1934, the area was officially known was Libya, a name meaning in Greek “North Africa,” an Italian colony (US Dept of State). Before the occupation of Libya, King Idris, emir of Cyrenaica, was creating financial grants from Italy and making a parliament for Cyrenaica. When he found out about Italy invaded, he fled to Egypt to live in exile. While in exile he led revolts in between both world wars against the occupation of Italy (US Dept of State). Idris returned from exile in 1947 after the Allied peace treaty demolished all control of Libya for Italy. In 1949, the United Nations passed a resolution demanding that Libya become an independent country before January 1, 1952. King Idris responded to this and Libya declared its independence on December 24, 1951. Libya was the first country to gain independence because of the United Nations and was also the first African colony to gain independence (US Dept of State). King Idris created Libya to be a monarchy with him in power.


Later in 1959, Libya discovered it had a great amount of oil within its territory, fueling the economy of the country. Unfortunately, this made a small percentage of the population wealthy and leaving the larger majority of the country still impoverished (US Dept of State). September 1, 1969, Colonel Mu’ammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi and a small group of army men overthrew King Ildris and exiled him to Egypt. Qadhafi took out the monarchy of the government and placed instead the Libyan Arab Republic, with himself as chief of state (US Dept of State).



In the 1980’s Libya held close ties with the Soviet Union and raised tensions between the United States and Libya. After a bombing on a Pan Am flight over Scotland in 1988, the UN sanctioned Libya demanding that Qadhafi surrender the suspects of the bombing. Qadhafi finally surrendered the two men in suspect in 1999 and began to follow the other demands so that sanctions could be lifted by the UN. This finally happened in 2003, leading to Qadhafi beginning to abandon his projects for weapons of mass destruction (US Dept of State).

Sources:

Infoplease. "Libya: History, Geography, Government, and Culture." Infoplease. 2007. 26 Dec. 2008 http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107722.html.

“Lost Civilizations.” 2007, http://www.lost-civilizations.net/phoenicians-history.html.

United States Department of State. “Libya.” October 2007, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm.



Politics:

Before Libya became independent, it was a colony of Italy, which at the time was a fascist government. After Libya independence in 1951, Kind Ildris created Libya to be a monarchy with himself in control. In the later 50’s oil was discovered in Libya making a handful of people very wealthy and the rest of the population to still live poorly. Although the discovery of oil in their country did change the country from being one of the poorest in the world to one of the richest in the middle east. A small group of military men led by Colonel Qadhafi overthrew King Ildris and made the country into a Libyan Arab Republic. To this day Qadhafi is still the chief of state for the country. Interestingly enough, he does not have an official position in Libya. The only thing Qadhafi is titled in official government papers is “Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution.”

Qadhafi has the government structured around Islamic and socialist theories. This structure gives Colonel Qadhafi almost complete power over any governmental decision. There is a structured legislative branch to compliment Qadhafi, in which the members are from scattered ministries throughout Libya. The legislative branch is within the General People’s Congress, which is created for the public to have a say in decisions. There are also 3 court systems in place, the courts of first instance, the court of appeals and the Supreme Court, the judges for the Supreme Court are appointed by the General People’s Congress.

Unfortunately, Qadhafi seems to run the country almost in fear and suspicion of his people attempting to overthrow him. In the 1980’s there was an attempted military coup on Qadhafi led by exiles, in response to this, Qadhafi had thousands imprisoned and interrogated. He attempted to find the leaders of the coup which brought more dissatisfaction about the Libyan government. He later loosened his control on the country and released some of the prisoners as well as allowed his citizens to travel easier. At the same time he began watching anti-Islamic groups believing that they were the ones conspiring these coups. Qadhafi would strike these groups in suspicion to keep himself safe.

Economically, oil is the largest export, and basically only, of Libya and amounts to about 97% of Libya’s export profits. Libya is one of the highest per individual gross domestic product countries in Afrcia, but unfortunately because of bad management by the government, the country still suffers from high inflation and high import prices. Libya imports almost all of its food consumed and this has been increasing because of rising populations. All of this has led to a fall in the in standard of living for the citizens of Libya. In 2004, President George Bush ended the sanction with Libya allowing Americans to work in Libya and since then American companies have began looking at Libya as an option for investments. Libya’s government has announced recently that they plan to begin many infrastructure projects.

Source used:

United States Department of State. “Libya.” October 2007, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm.