Box 1. Countdown to a verdict

The next, and last, session of the trial of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, on charges that could see them face the death penalty (see main piece), is scheduled for 31 October, with a verdict expected days or weeks later.

The retrial began on 11 May, with a handful of sessions since, but little new evidence. The medics were condemned to death in May 2004, but the Supreme Court quashed their convictions last December, following international protests.

International pressure eased once a retrial was won, but Emmanuel Altit, head of the defence team, is pessimistic about the upcoming verdict, from the same Benghazi Criminal Court. "The decision will more than likely be a very bad one," he predicts.

As the trial draws to a close, many scientific and human-rights bodies have renewed calls for the court to hear independent evidence (see Nature 443, 612–613; 2006). The New York Academy of Sciences and the Federation of the European Academies of Medicine have recently launched campaigns, and this week, Science will publish a letter calling for the release of the six, signed by AIDS researcher Robert Gallo and dozens of other scientists.

"It's exactly what we need, to pressure the Libyan authorities," says Altit. Even if too late for the current trial, such pressure might help influence the Supreme Court, who would hear an appeal if the medics are found guilty.

Altit believes the medics were charged so that officials wouldn't have to admit responsibility for the healthcare system's failings. But the case is embarrassing for the government, he says, so there is hope of a resolution.

D.B.