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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TRIPOLI 000474 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/MAG AND EUR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  5/9/2017 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL BU LY
SUBJECT: LIBYA: MEDICS DEFAMATION CASE DECISION DUE MAY 27, SUPREME 
COURT APPEAL DECISION LIKELY TO BE DELAYED 
 
REF: TRIPOLI 426 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Elizabeth Fritschle, POL/ECON Counselor, 
AmEmbassy Tripoli, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY.  All signs indicate the six foreign health 
workers accused of intentionally infecting over 400 Benghazi 
children with HIV/AIDS in 1999 will be convicted on May 27 of 
defaming two Libyan police officers they accused of torture (a 
separate case from the main criminal case).  The Bulgarian 
Embassy reports that since the Supreme Court has yet to schedule 
a first hearing of the medics' appeal to their December 19, 2006 
conviction in the criminal case, a Supreme Court verdict is 
still at least seven weeks away.  (Libyan officials had 
originally predicted a Supreme Court decision by March.)  The 
Bulgarian Embassy is cautiously optimistic that the Supreme 
Court delay coincided with a high-level May 10 EU meeting aimed 
at finding a political way for the medics to return home.  The 
prosecution prepared a case file for Supreme Court review 
recommending the higher court confirm the guilty verdict, raise 
the court-ordered compensation for the victims' families, and 
order a new trial in the secondary charges of money laundering 
and alcohol consumption.  Once the Supreme Court sets a date to 
hear the appeal, it can confirm or overturn the verdict or order 
a new criminal trial heard directly by the Supreme Court. 
Inflammatory press coverage continues and rose to a new level on 
May 9 when the GOL circulated a diplomatic note to foreign 
missions claiming that a Mossad agent developed a romantic 
relationship with one of the nurses and paid her to infect the 
children.  END SUMMARY. 
 
DEFAMATION VERDICT DELAYED UNTIL MAY 27 
 
¶2.  (C)  Dmitar Dmitrov, point man on the nurses case for the 
Bulgarian Embassy in Tripoli told Poloff that Bulgaria expects a 
guilty verdict in the defamation case on May 27.  (NOTE:  This 
case is separate from the main criminal case against the 
medics.)  Since two Libyan police officers filed suit in the 
Souq al-Juma'a municipal court in Tripoli on February 11 
alleging that the medics intentionally made false statements 
accusing the officers of torture, the court has held seven 
hearings in the defamation case.  All hearings have taken place 
at the maximum security Ayn Zara prison. (NOTE:  The prison 
houses almost exclusively political prisoners.  END NOTE.)  At 
the latest May 6 hearing, the municipal court judge announced 
the court would delay its verdict on the defamation charges 
until May 27. 
 
¶3.  (C)  While Bulgaria believes the police officers are at 
least partially concerned about their reputation, financial 
motives also underlie the defamation case.  In addition, state 
prosecutors have successfully used the defamation case to 
introduce new evidence into the ongoing criminal trial; 
specifically, prosecutors have introduced a "Biotechnology 
Center of South Carolina" study reported reftel as new evidence 
of the medics' guilt in the criminal case. 
 
¶4.  (C)  The five Bulgarian medics and Palestinian physician 
attended the first five defamation hearings; however, the medics 
were not provided with interpretation and were not allowed to 
address the court.  At one point, the plaintiff's attorney asked 
the medics if they had intentionally lied that their confessions 
were obtained under torture.  Several medics attempted to 
respond, but the judge quickly cut them off.  Though the medics' 
defense attorney Othman Bizanti believes Libyan law requires the 
defendants to be present during a civil trial for the verdict to 
be valid, the court did not object to the medics' decision not 
to attend the last two hearings. 
 
SUPREME COURT RULING AT LEAST SEVEN WEEKS AWAY 
 
¶5.  (C)  According to Dmitrov, the Supreme Court ruling in the 
criminal case is at least seven weeks away.  According to Libyan 
law, the prosecution must prepare a dossier for the Supreme 
Court containing arguments and evidence from the criminal trial, 
including statements from the prosecution, victims' families, 
and defendants.  Once the prosecution completes the dossier, the 
Supreme Court will fix a date for a first hearing approximately 
three weeks later.  During the hearing, lawyers for the 
prosecution, victims' families, and defendants will give oral 
arguments summarizing their cases but will not be allowed to 
present new evidence or call witnesses.  The Supreme Court will 
 
TRIPOLI 00000474  002 OF 003 
 
 
then adjourn for four weeks to review the case. 
 
¶6.  (C)  The Supreme Court can then accept the prosecution's 
recommendation and uphold the conviction, grant the medics' 
appeal and throw out the case, or order a new criminal trial at 
the Supreme Court level if it has any doubts about the 
prosecution's position. If the Supreme Court orders a new 
criminal trial, the Supreme Court would hear all the evidence 
and witnesses again, likely delaying the verdict for months. The 
Supreme Court does not have the legal authority to remand the 
case to a lower court. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Dmitrov told Poloff the prosecution finished its 
dossier on April 15.  The dossier contains the prosecution's 
recommendations to confirm the guilty verdict in the criminal 
case, increase the compensation figures to the victims' families 
noted in the December 19 verdict, and order a new trial on the 
secondary charges of money laundering and alcohol consumption. 
Almost a month has passed since the prosecution forwarded its 
document to the Supreme Court without the Court scheduling a 
hearing.  Bulgaria sees the Supreme Court's delay as a positive 
sign that the GOL is waiting to see the outcome of ongoing 
high-level EU diplomatic efforts. 
 
SUPREME COURT COULD RAISE COURT-ORDERED COMPENSATION PAYMENTS 
 
¶8.  (C)  There are still two possible mechanisms for the 
victims' families to receive compensation -- a court-ordered 
judgment or an out-of-court settlement directly with the medics. 
 The first option would see the Supreme Court, assuming it 
confirms the guilty verdict, either affirm or raise the 
compensation figures spelled out in the December 19 ruling. 
(NOTE:  In its recommendation to the Supreme Court, which has 
not been made public, the prosecution recommends the Supreme 
Court revise upwards.  END NOTE.)  An out-of-court settlement 
between the defendants and the victims' families is also still 
possible. According to defense lawyer Othman Bizanti, Libyan 
criminal law allows for a "blood money" payment to reduce the 
medics' sentence from death to life in prison.  The defendants' 
lawyer believes the law does not/not allow the medics to go free 
in exchange for blood money. 
 
¶9.  (C)  According to Dmitrov, the criminal court's December 19 
verdict specified compensation figures for 348 families, ranging 
from 350,000 LD to almost 1 million LD.  Dmitrov estimates the 
total cost of the December 19 compensation package at 104 
million LD -- a "reasonable figure" for Bulgaria and the EU to 
manage (i.e. via the Benghazi International Fund).  While 
victims' families have at various points agreed to abide by 
court decisions on compensation, most families continue to 
campaign publicly for a larger settlement.  They frequently cite 
the $10 million phased settlement to Lockerbie victims' 
families, although local press does not circulate information 
that the final tranche of the settlement was not paid when Libya 
was not removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List by the 
specified date. 
 
BULGARIA UPBEAT ON EU DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS 
 
¶10.  (C)  Bulgaria continues to hope for sustained, high-level 
EU pressure throughout the Supreme Court process. Dmitrov noted 
cautious optimism that the Supreme Court's refusal to set a date 
for its first hearing coincided with high-level talks sponsored 
by the EU Commission for External Relations on May 10.  While 
the Bulgarian Embassy in Tripoli had no information about the 
specifics of the EU-led discussions, Bulgaria remains hopeful EU 
diplomatic efforts will find a political solution independent of 
the Supreme Court procedure.  Nevertheless, Dmitrov noted 
constant GOL indignation over allegations its judiciary is not 
fully independent, therefore suggesting the Supreme Court will 
likely proceed with a hearing irrespective of European progress 
on the political front.  In addition, Dmitrov noted the EU 
resident representative in Tunis and the UK Ambassador in 
Tripoli (acting on behalf of the UK's EU Presidency) visited the 
medics in prison on May 6 in a quiet show of support.  (NOTE: 
The UK Ambassador in Tripoli also attended the May 10 Brussels 
meeting.  END NOTE.) 
 
INFLAMMATORY PRESS COVERAGE GAINS NEW LEGITIMACY 
 
¶11.  (C)  As reported reftel, inflammatory press coverage of the 
medics trial continues, linking the case with a foreign 
intelligence plot against Libya and threatening that anyone who 
questions the integrity of the Libyan judicial process shares 
 
TRIPOLI 00000474  003 OF 003 
 
 
the medics' guilt.  Widely circulated conspiracy theories gained 
new legitimacy on May 9 when the GOL distributed a particularly 
vitriolic article to foreign Embassies under cover of a 
diplomatic note.  The article, reportedly from the "Al Madar" 
weekly newspaper, alleges that Bulgarian intelligence services 
and Mossad collaborated to seduce one of the medics in an 
unnamed Mediterranean capital "not far from Libya."  The article 
says that a Mossad agent developed a romantic relationship with 
the medic and paid her to infect the Benghazi children. 
 
¶12.  (C)  According to the dipnote, "Al Madar" is a weekly Iraqi 
newspaper operating under British license but distributed in 
Syria.  Ali Al Jafal, a "Shiite Iraqi," is listed at the 
newspaper's editor, while Syrian journalist Moeen Ibrahim is the 
managing editor.  The dipnote also mentions two other names: 
"Mohamed al Miah, Shiite, he was formerly the Editorial Manager 
of the Iraqi Revolution Newspaper during Saddam Hussein era, and 
Abdul Mohsin Attiah, an Iraqi Journalist, Shiite."  The note 
also states that the newspaper is "supportive to the Iraqi 
resistance." 
 
BULGARIAN EMBASSY STRATEGY FOR DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT 
 
¶13.  (C)  Dmitrov advised that any visible U.S. role in the last 
weeks of the defamation case, including attendance at the May 27 
verdict, would only allow the GOL to spin U.S. presence to 
bolster the trial's legitimacy.  The Bulgarian Embassy expects 
the GOL might bus the diplomatic corps to the Supreme Court 
verdict as it did with the December 19 verdict announcement. 
Bulgaria said that the EU Ambassadors were supporting its 
efforts and noted UK Ambassador's May 6 visit official prison 
visit to the medics.  Dmitrov asked for the U.S. to continue 
raising the medics case as part of its bilateral engagements 
with Libya. 
CECIL