Ashraf Al Hajuj
Encyclopedia
Ashraf Ahmad El-Hajouj is a Palestinian
-Bulgaria
n medic
who was the principal defendant
on the HIV trial in Libya
. Born in 1969, he moved together with his parents to Libya in 1972 from Egypt
, where his father was working as a senior teacher of mathematics. El-Hajouj grew up and studied in Libya. He was in the last month of his internship when he was kidnapped and accused of infecting more than 400 children with HIV-virus. The co-accused were five Bulgaria
n nurses (Kristiana Valcheva, Nasya Nenova, Valya Chervenyashka, Valentina Siropulo and Snezhana Dimitrova).
In February 2000 began the first trial against them. They were accused for deliberately infecting the children with HIV
, conspiracy and adultery. The nurses and El-Hajouj had recognized that the confessions were extracted under tortures they were subjected to during first year of their detention.
In May 2004 they were sentenced to death by shooting
. The defence team told the court that HIV was present in the hospital of Benghazi, before the nurses began working there in 1998.
In December 2005 the Libyan court commuted the sentence and ordered a new trial. On December 19, 2006 the defendants were sentenced to death again.
On July 11, 2007 the Libyan Supreme Court confirmed the death sentences. Later the Supreme Court changed its verdict to the life sentence. On July 24, 2007 after a negotiation of the French
president Nicolas Sarkozy
the Bulgarian nurses and El-Hajouj, who received Bulgarian nationality in June 2007, departed to Bulgaria
, according to the protocol of prisoners exchange.
After being released, El-Hajouj settled down together with his family in the Netherlands. In 2010 he published in the Netherlands a book about his sufferings in Libyan prison, named "Khaddafi's scapegoat"
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
-Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n medic
Medic
Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine. Also the term is used toward a Nurse in pre-hospital care and/or emergency...
who was the principal defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
on the HIV trial in Libya
HIV trial in Libya
The HIV trial in Libya concerns the trials, appeals and eventual release of six foreign medical workers charged with conspiring to deliberately infect over 400 children with HIV in 1998, causing an epidemic at El-Fatih Children's Hospital in Benghazi, Libya.The defendants were a Palestinian...
. Born in 1969, he moved together with his parents to Libya in 1972 from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, where his father was working as a senior teacher of mathematics. El-Hajouj grew up and studied in Libya. He was in the last month of his internship when he was kidnapped and accused of infecting more than 400 children with HIV-virus. The co-accused were five Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n nurses (Kristiana Valcheva, Nasya Nenova, Valya Chervenyashka, Valentina Siropulo and Snezhana Dimitrova).
In February 2000 began the first trial against them. They were accused for deliberately infecting the children with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, conspiracy and adultery. The nurses and El-Hajouj had recognized that the confessions were extracted under tortures they were subjected to during first year of their detention.
In May 2004 they were sentenced to death by shooting
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
. The defence team told the court that HIV was present in the hospital of Benghazi, before the nurses began working there in 1998.
In December 2005 the Libyan court commuted the sentence and ordered a new trial. On December 19, 2006 the defendants were sentenced to death again.
On July 11, 2007 the Libyan Supreme Court confirmed the death sentences. Later the Supreme Court changed its verdict to the life sentence. On July 24, 2007 after a negotiation of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
president Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
the Bulgarian nurses and El-Hajouj, who received Bulgarian nationality in June 2007, departed to Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, according to the protocol of prisoners exchange.
After being released, El-Hajouj settled down together with his family in the Netherlands. In 2010 he published in the Netherlands a book about his sufferings in Libyan prison, named "Khaddafi's scapegoat"