HIV Trial in Libya - Terms of Release

Terms of Release

On 24 July 2007, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy officially announced that French and European representatives had obtained the extradition of the prisoners, including the Palestinian doctor, who had been granted Bulgarian citizenship a month earlier. They left Libya on a French government plane, with the EU's external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and the former wife of the French President, Cécilia Sarkozy, who traveled twice to Libya.

During his investiture speech as President beginning of May 2007, Sarkozy had alluded to the nurses, declaring: "France will be to the sides of the Libyan nurses detained since 8 years..."

The six prisoners were released after extensive negotiations between the EU (including Bulgaria, and particularly France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and his former wife) and Libya. As a result of the resolution of the crisis, negotiations for further restoring Libya's ties to the EU are in progress.

A 1985 prisoner-exchange agreement between Bulgaria and Libya was the legal instrument used for the transfer; technically Libya did not free the medics but rather allowed them to serve their sentences in Bulgaria. On landing in Sofia, however, they were pardoned by the Bulgarian President, Georgi Parvanov.

The French President said that “some humanitarian mediation” by the “friendly” government of Qatar was decisive in helping with the release of the medics. Sarkozy claimed that no additional money was given by France, Bulgaria, or the European Union in addition to the amount stipulated in the private agreement previously reached with the Libyan families. He also confirmed that the release of the medics would allow him to perform an official visit to Libya to meet the Libyan president to negotiate other international issues.

The EU believes the six are innocent - Libya does not. Libya complained that the six should not have been pardoned once they reached Bulgaria. Libya petitioned the Arab League, and was supported by Oman, but, as of 31 July no definitive Arab League support had been decided on and no complaint had been filed with the EU.

The EU maintains it did not pay compensation to either the infected children or their families: according to Sarkozy, Europe did not pay "the slightest financial compensation" for the medics' release. However, the European Commission committed $461 million to the Benghazi International Fund. Also, Bulgaria cancelled a probably noncollectible $57 million debt owed by Libya), and humanitarian funds were made available for both the infected's treatment and for a new children's hospital in Benghazi. Saif Gaddafi declared that the humanitarian aid to the Benghazi hospital amounted to "not less than 300 million euros," which was denied by the French, who declared that it was largely overestimated. The Benghazi International Fund received from abroad 600 million Libyan dinars and Libya received promises of equipment and personnel to train of Libyan medics over a period of five years.

Initially Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, contradicted Sarkozy's claim that no additional agreements had been made. In exchange for the release of the nurses, he said Nicolas Sarkozy not only signed with Gaddafi security, health care and immigration pacts (assistance with border management and scholarships for Libyan students in the EU) : according to Libyan sources cited by the Agence France-Presse, a $230 million (168 million euros) MILAN antitank missile sale was also part of the release deal. The contract would be the first made by Libya since 2004, and would have been negotiated with MBDA, a subsidiary of EADS. Furthermore, a cooperation agreement on civil nuclear technology was signed by Sarkozy during his visit. The latter was criticized by Greenpeace and by Noël Mamère, a Green deputy. Sarkozy responded that Arab states should be trusted with nuclear technology to prevent any "war of civilizations," while his chief of staff, Claude Guéant, declared that "a country that respects international rules can obtain civilian nuclear energy."

Saif al-Islam announced the existence of these deals in an interview to Le Monde. EADS also confirmed it after Saif Gaddafi's declarations, contradicting the official position of the Elysée Palace. Another 128 millions euros contract would have been signed, according to Tripoli, with EADS for a TETRA radio system. The Socialist Party (PS) and the Communist Party (PCF) criticized a "state affair" and a "barter" with a "rogue state". The leader of the PS, François Hollande, requested the opening of a parliamentary investigation. The Parliamentary Commission is expected to be created in October 2007. The French left asked for Cécilia Sarkozy to be heard by the Commission, as she had played an "important role" in the release of the six according to Pierre Moscovici (PS). Arnaud Montebourg had criticized her role, accusing her of having fast-tracked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Kouchner, while Sarkozy himself praised his wife.

He also linked the release of the Bulgarian nurses and of the Palestinian physician to bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom concerning the extradition of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted in the Lockerbie bombing case.

Following the controversy lifted by Saif Gaddafi's revelations concerning the arms deal, Sarkozy claimed that the arms contract was not connected to the liberation of the six, declaring: ""The contract was not linked to the release of the nurses. What do they criticise me for? Getting contracts? Creating jobs for French workers?".

Furthermore, Saif Gaddafi retracted his August 1 statements three days later, claiming that the arms deal and the agreement for the delivery of a nuclear reactor were not linked to the liberation of the Bulgarian nurses. He stated that the deal with EADS had started 18 months ago, information that was confirmed by EADS.

Despite these denegations, it is commonally accepted that the arms deal would not have been possible if the six hadn't been freed, as Europe generally would have sided with Bulgaria on this issue. The head of the Bulgarian intelligence, General Kirtcho Kirov, declared that important arms contracts and oil contracts were at stake.

Additionally, President Sarkozy pledged to sell Libya three civil nuclear power stations as part of a package of trade and assistance that will boost the role of French companies in the oil-rich country. During his visit to Libya on 25 July 2007, Sarkozy signed an agreement of cooperation on civil nuclear technology. He decided to build three civil nuclear power stations for the Libyan state. According to Paris, the nuclear power stations are meant for desalinization of sea water, but Le Monde has pointed out that the Libyans quickly bypassed any reference to desalinization. This deal was criticized by the French left-wing and also by German governmental sources, including Deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler, Greens leader Reinhard Buetikofer and SPD deputy Ulrich Kelber. And during Tony Blair's visit end of May 2007, the British group BP signed a natural gas contract for 900 million dollars.

Furthermore, Le Parisien alleged on 13 August 2007 that the agreement concerning nuclear technologies did not concern desalinization of sea water, but focused in particular on the ERP third-generation nuclear reactor, worth $3 billion. The Parisian newspaper cited Philippe Delaune, the deputy of the deputy director of international affairs of the CEA atomic agency. It is the main share-holder of Areva, the firm which products ERP reactors. Although the French President denied any relationship between the deal with Areva and the liberation of the six, Le Parisien points out a troubling chronology: Areva was called to present its products to Libya at the end of June 2007, a short time before the release of the six. The French Socialist Party, through the voice of Jean-Louis Bianco, declared that this deal was "geopolitically irresponsible." The German government also denounced the agreement. Through Siemens, they retain 34% of the shares of Areva's subsidiary in charge of building the ERP (Areva NP).

This information from Le Parisien was immediately denied by Areva. Areva's spokesman did admit that negotiations had taken place early June 2007, but that no particular technology transfer had been agreed upon. Furthermore, Philippe Delaune, the CEA's spokesman, added that in any case, any transfer concerning the ERP technology would take at least ten or fifteen years.

While Areva did admit that general negotiations had taken place, Nicolas Sarkozy formally dismissed all of the story, claiming it was "false." Bulgarian President Georgy Parvanov also claimed that the arms and nuclear agreements were not related to the release of the nurses.