The six defendants in the Benghazi Aids trial, sentenced to death last year for supposedly infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV despite incontrovertible evidence that they couldn’t be guilty, are now being sued for slander by their torturers:
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor in Libya accused of making false claims of torture have pleaded not guilty to charges of slander.
The six were sentenced to death in a separate trial last year for infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV.They say they made false confessions, admitting to infecting the children, because investigators tortured them.
A Libyan police officer and a doctor claim nearly $4m (£2m) each in compensation in damages.
Both were acquitted of torture charges in 2005.
Tensions were high in the courtroom for the hearing in the slander trial, says the BBC’s Rana Jawad in Tripoli.
“You should be ashamed of your crimes,” said the Palestinian doctor Ashraf Ahmad Juma.
“You tortured us and now you are prosecuting us.”
Police officer Jomaa Mishri said the lawsuit was not about money but rather about regaining their dignity.
He and doctor Abdulmajid Alshoul want $3.9m (£1.98m) in compensation for damage to their reputation, and legal expenses.
Mick Hartley 
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