Libyan leader's son admits medics' torture
Saif al-Islam Qaddafi also acknowledged the innocence of former imprisoned Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor.
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Libyan courts had based their rulings on conflicting reports implicating the medics, he added.
The medics have always maintained their innocence and were pardoned on their return by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.
Saif is the oldest son of Libya's leader. Educated at the London School of Economics, he is also a painter. Although he has become increasingly politically active and is often named as a potential successor to his father, he insists that elections will determine the next leader of Libya, reports The Washington Post.
Gaddafi's eldest son often acts as a public relations and diplomatic spokesman for his father and reportedly was instrumental in negotiations with the West in convincing his father to give up Libyan nuclear ambitions. He also is reported to have played a role in orchestrating the deal to release the medical workers.
In a Wednesday interview with Newsweek magazine, Saif discussed the more than $400 million settlement Libya negotiated for the families of children infected with HIV/AIDS. A number of people have accused the Libyans of "blackmailing" Europe in order to receive the massive settlement.
[Question:]Can we put a dollar figure on the package?
[Answer:] We are talking not less than €300 million for the hospital in Benghazi. For the families it's about another €400 million, something like this. And the Bulgarians and Slovakia and other European countries wrote off their debt with Libya. And then they gave again more.
[Q:]What do you say to people who say this was blackmail and it worked?
[A:] Blackmail? Maybe. It is blackmail, but the Europeans also blackmailed us. Yeah, it's an immoral game, but they set the rules of the game, the Europeans, and now they are paying the price ... Everyone tries to play with this card to advance his own interest back home.
For the medical workers held in captivity for eight years, Qaddafi's acknowledgment of torture was a welcome gesture, reports the Associated Press.
Snezhana Dimitrova, one of the nurses, said she was glad Gadhafi's son had told the truth. "The fact that a Libyan and the son of Gadhafi at that has told the truth is very gratifying and I thank him for it," she told the AP.
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