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OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSF #0861/01 1991444
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181444Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3992
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000861 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE MNORDBERG 
 
REF:  Sofia 846 and previous 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM LY BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIAN OFFICIALS CALL FOR PATIENCE ON LIBYAN MEDIC 
RELEASE; LEGAL PROCEDURES UNDERWAY TO EFFECT TRANSFER 
 
 
SOFIA 00000861  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Bulgarian officials reacted with balanced and 
measured statements to the July 17 Libyan Higher Judicial Council's 
decision to commute the medics' death sentences to life 
imprisonment, saying it paved the way for a final conclusion to the 
medics' eight-year plight.  President Georgi Parvanov, Foreign 
Minister Ivailo Kalfin and Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev all said 
the Council's decision opened the way for the implementation of the 
Legal Assistance Agreement between the two states, which could allow 
the medics' transfer to Bulgaria.  Our contacts first indicated that 
the necessary documents would be submitted to the Libyan authorities 
on July 18, but the Chief Prosecutor's office later stated that this 
would happen July 19 or 20.  Bulgarian officials are unwilling to 
speculate on the timing of the medics' return, stressing that they 
will consider the case closed only after the health workers land in 
Bulgaria.  END SUMMARY 
 
Next steps: cautious optimism officially. . . 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) Foreign Minister Kalfin gave the first official reaction to 
the ruling at a news briefing late July 17.  He  said that the 
Libyan Higher Judicial Council (HJC) ruling was a big step towards a 
final solution of the medics' case.  "The ruling revokes the worst 
thing -- the death sentences -- and paves the way for the 
implementation of the legal agreement between the two countries," 
said Kalfin.  He said that all Bulgarian institutions would 
coordinate their actions and start work immediately to launch the 
procedure for the medics' transfer. He said Bulgaria would consider 
the case closed only after the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian 
doctor return to Bulgaria. 
 
¶3. (U) "The Libyan Higher Judicial Council's decision evokes mixed 
feelings.  Unquestionably, the good news is that the death sentences 
have been revoked," President Parvanov said July 18.  "Bulgarian 
institutions are doing all that is necessary to put into force the 
legal agreement between Bulgaria and Libya and bring the nurses back 
home soon," he said.  Neither Parvanov nor Kalfin made commitments 
to any deadlines.  PM Sergey Stanishev also called the HJC's 
decision "an important step" towards ending the medics' drama, and 
called for composure and more patience with the case. 
 
. . . legal procedures underway . . . 
------------------------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) Chief Prosecutor Velchev said the decision on the medics 
was expected.  "The procedure for requesting the medics' transfer 
has already been set in motion and the needed documents for the 
transfer will be sent today," he told reporters after an emergency 
meeting of prosecutors early July 18 to discuss the case.  Velchev 
said the legal assistance agreement between Bulgaria and Libya did 
not specify time limits within which the convicted have to be 
transferred, and added that Libya could deny the transfer.  "If the 
Libyan state finds any obstacles for the medics' transfer, the 
Bulgarian side will work to remove them as soon as possible," 
Velchev said.  A mission contact at the Supreme Cassation 
Prosecutors' Service, who worked on the preparation of the transfer 
request, told us this morning that the paperwork should be submitted 
to Libyan authorities today.  When asked about the possible 
technical hurdles to which Velchev referred, the official explained 
that at the time of the signing of the legal assistance agreement 
between Bulgaria and Libya, the punishment of "life imprisonment" 
did not exist in Bulgaria. Thus, Libya could claim that life 
imprisonment cases are not covered by the agreement. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Foreign Ministry's Middle East and Africa Director 
Petko Doykov also told us that the necessary documents to effect the 
transfer of the nurses were "in process" with the Chief Prosecutor's 
office and would be completed within the day.  He said that the 
transfer request would be sent to Libya in accordance with the Legal 
Assistance Agreement through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 
¶19.  Doykov said that because the agreement had never been invoked, 
he could not speculate on the timing of the release or on Libyan 
actions, but he did not believe a transfer would occur today.  Our 
contacts at the Ministry of Justice initially did not seem to be 
fully engaged in the process, although they were aware that their 
Ministry would play a formal role in transmission of the Chief 
Prosecutor's request. In a subsequent conversation, MOJ's 
International Cooperation Department expert Krassimir Ivanov 
confirmed the role of the Ministry. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In an afternoon press conference at the Sofia Prosecution 
Service, Professor Anton Gerginov, the prosecutor assigned 
responsibility for the case, reported that the Prosecutor's office 
had completed its request for the transfer of the five nurses (the 
Palestinian doctor's paperwork would follow after his family's 
formal request to the Bulgarian government) and passed it to the 
Bulgarian Ministry of Justice.  Gerginov said it is expected that 
the Ministry of Justice will complete its procedures on July 19 or 
 
SOFIA 00000861  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
20, and submit to the Libyan Ministry of Justice through the 
Bulgarian Embassy in Tripoli.  According to Gerginov, the government 
is proceeding with the request for transfer, even though it has not 
received formal notification of the Judicial Council's decision from 
the Libyan government.  It is yet to be determined where and how the 
transfer of the medics will be effected.  Gerginov dismissed press 
questions concerning a possible Bulgarian government pardon or the 
legality of any further stipulations from the Libyan government that 
there should be no Bulgarian pardon.  (Note: GoB officials have told 
us privately that the nurses will be pardoned before they reach 
Bulgarian soil.) 
 
. . . but latent frustration beginning to boil 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶7. (U) The reaction of the medics' relatives was less restrained. 
Mariyan Georgiev, the son of Dr. Zdravko Georgiev, said he was 
frustrated and disappointed.  He told local media the HJC's ruling 
aimed to clear the image of the Libyan state while further 
humiliating the Bulgarian medics.  Asked about his expectations for 
the medics' release, he said he did not have high hopes because 
"everything in Libya happened slowly and painfully." Bulgarian 
electronic media commented that the HJC ruling was a positive 
development that opened the way to the medics' release.  Media 
reports emphasized the innocence of the medics and noted that the 
ruling fell short of expectations for freeing the medics.  Most 
electronic media reported in detail about the deal with the HIV 
victims' families, saying that the HJC ruling had practically 
legalized a bargain aimed at saving the face of the Libyan regime. 
Foreign policy observers interviewed by local media noted that HJC 
ruling was hardly a surprise, given the course of the process so far 
and Libya's track record. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT.  While the wheels appear to be turning, it seems 
that Bulgarian officials were not prepared to submit an immediate 
request for transfer upon news of the commutation of the sentences. 
The Chief Prosecutor's office has done its work and handed off the 
transfer request to the Justice Ministry, which must engage its 
Libyan counterpart ministry to effect the transfer.  Gerginov's 
statement that the request would be completed "tomorrow or the day 
after tomorrow" does not indicate a speedy resolution. Parliament 
only today formally confirmed Meglena Tacheva as the new Justice 
Minister; we expect her take-charge style to get an early test run 
in this case.  French President Sarkozy's proposed visit later this 
week may offer another excuse for Libyan delay.  END COMMENT. 
BEYRLE