...five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor were arrested and made scapegoats for "scandalous hygienic conditions and bad laboratory procedures practiced by Libyan officials which led to over 400 Libyan children being infected with the HIV virus.

The defendants burst into tears on hearing the verdict while the families of sick or dead victims started to celebrate, singing and dancing outside the heavily protected Tripoli court.

The verdict was swiftly condemned by the European Union and Bulgaria, which reiterated its belief that the children were infected by unhygienic conditions. An appeal will be launched to the Libyan Supreme Court, said defence lawyers.

The EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini called for the verdict to be reviewed.

"I'm shocked by this decision," he said outside the European Parliament in Brussels. "I strongly hope that the Libyan authorities will rethink this decision," which poses "an obstacle to cooperation with the EU".