ANA Statement on the Bulgarian Nurses Death Sentence
Silver Spring, MD-The American Nurses Association (ANA) condemns the latest verdict in the trial of the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor in Libya. These health professionals, imprisoned since 1999, are accused of having allegedly infected 400 Libyan children with the AIDS virus. ANA recognizes the pain of the children and their families and the need to mobilize resources for treatment. However, ANA considers this verdict to be a grave miscarriage of justice against the imprisoned health professionals. ANA urges the United States government to continue its efforts to intervene on behalf of the health professionals and to consider sanctions against the Libyan government that would be appropriate given the untenable circumstances.
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The ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.9 million registered nurses through its 54 constituent member nurses associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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