Six Bulgarian medics who were serving life sentences in Libya have arrived in Bulgaria following their release.

The five nurses and a Palestinian-born doctor were convicted of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV - charges they have always denied.

The release follows years of diplomacy by EU officials and two trips to Libya by the new French president's wife.

An EU official told the BBC the release had been made possible by a deal struck in Tripoli on improving Libya-EU ties.

It comes after years of efforts by the European Commission, with the EU's external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, making numerous trips to Libya, meeting the prisoners and working to improve the conditions for hundreds of children with HIV/Aids.

Ms Ferrero-Waldner and Cecilia Sarkozy, the wife of France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, accompanied the Bulgarians home to the capital, Sofia.

Speaking on arrival, Mrs Ferrero-Waldner described the medics' release as "a humanitarian decision" and the "right decision".

She told the BBC it marked "a new page in the history of relations between the EU and Libya".

Earlier, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed the agreement.

They paid tribute to the work of Ms Ferrero-Waldner, saying it would not have been possible without her determination, as well as the mediation of the emir of Qatar.

Archaeological help

According to EU officials the key to the agreement has been a memorandum signed in Tripoli by Ms Ferrero-Waldner, which would lead to the full normalisation of EU relations with Libya.

The BBC's Oana Lungescu says it includes a pledge to open the European market to Libyan farm and fishery produce, technical assistance for the restoration of archaeological monuments and EU grants for Libyan students.

It also included measures to improve the care of children with HIV/Aids in Libya, the French presidential palace said.

Last week, the six had death sentences commuted to life in prison by Libya's top legal body.

The High Judicial Council ruling came after the families of the 438 children agreed a compensation deal reportedly worth $1m (£500,000) per child.

Transfer deal

Bulgaria had officially asked Libya to repatriate the medics so they could serve out their sentences in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov said he was satisfied with the release of the medics.

"The dramatic case with the sentenced innocent Bulgarian citizens is at its end. We are still sympathetic with the other tragedy - the one of the infected Libyan children and their families," he said.

The Palestinian doctor was granted Bulgarian citizenship last month to allow him to benefit from any transfer deal.

The medics were convicted of deliberately injecting 438 children with HIV-tainted blood. Fifty-six children have since died.

The six, who have been in prison since 1999, say they were tortured to confess.

Foreign experts say the infections started before the medics arrived at the hospital, and are more likely to have been a result of poor hygiene.

Bulgaria, its allies in the European Union, and the United States say Libya has used the case to deflect criticism from its run-down health service.

PHOTO CAPTION

Bulgarian doctor Zdravko Georgiev (L), who was the only one acquitted in the HIV trial in Libya and is the husband of one of the convicted nurses, Christiana Valcheva, waves to well-wishers after the medics' arrival at Sofia airport July 24, 2007. (Reuters)

BBC