her to electric shocks on her breasts and genitals. "My confession was all in Arabic without translation, [...] We were ready to sign anything just to stop the torture." Lawyers for the accused medical personnel have asked for 5 million Libyan dinars (approx. €3.1million/US$3.7 mullion as of 2005) as compensation. Much of the evidence is based on medical reports prepared by authorities from Bulgaria relating to marks and scars on the defendants. All of the accused Libyans deny the charges, and none of them were jailed. After several procedural delays, their trial began in late May 2005. On 7 June 2005, the 10 defendants were acquitted. The prisoners were sued by several Libyan police officers for slandering them with the allegations of torture. However, on 27 May 2007, the prisoners were acquitted of these charges and the plaintiffs ordered to pay the legal fees. Trials The first case against the medics was brought in the People’s Court (Mahkamat al-Sha`b), a special court for crimes against the state. The trial began on 7 February 2000. The charges were: intentionally "murdering with a lethal substance (Article 371 of the Penal Code), randomly killing with the aim of attacking the security of the State (Article 202), and causing an epidemic through spreading harmful virus, leading to the death of persons (Article 305)." In addition, the Bulgarians were accused of acting contrary to Libyan customs and traditions, by engaging in non-marital sexual relations and drinking alcohol in public places, distilling alcohol and illegally transacting in foreign currency. In April 2001 Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi made a speech at the African summit on HIV/AIDS. He told the conference that the world AIDS epidemic started when "CIA laboratories lost control over the virus which they were testing on black Haitian prisoners." He called the HIV crisis in Benghazi "an odious crime" and questioned who was behind it. "Some said it was the CIA. Others said it was the Mossad Israeli intelligence. They carried out an experiment on these children." He went on to say that the trial would be "an international trial, like the Lockerbie trial." First trial The defendants all plead not guilty. The Prosecution submitted the Defendant's confessions in evidence, but the defendants all repudiated their confessions. They gave interviews and testified at trial that they were forced to confess by the use of torture. This led to charges being filed against 10 Libyan