Bulgarian Medic Rescued from Libyan Prison Arrives Home

Atanas Krastev, his wife and his 1-month-old child upon arriving in Sofia. Photo by BGNES

Atanas Krastev, the Bulgarian medic, who was kept in a Libyan prison for more than two months, has safely returned to his home country.

Krastev was arrested on March 29 after the local police authorities found pictures on his PC allegedly discrediting Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Upon arriving at the Sofia airport late on Saturday, Krastev thanked the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, his wife and his lawyer for the efforts that rescued him.

Eleven years ago, six Bulgarian medics were arrested and subsequently sentenced to death in Libya on the basis of the false accusation that they had infected Libyan children with AIDS on purpose.

The travesty trial of the Bulgarian medics in Libya was a clear act of blackmail from the very beginning. In 2007, Bulgaria completely wrote off Libya's debt to facilitate negotiations and obtain the release from jail of the six Bulgarian medics.

Tripoli protested against the pardoning of the Bulgarian medics, claiming it breaches the prisoner transfer agreement signed in 1984, based on which the medics were repatriated.

 

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