July 11 (Reuters) - Libya's Supreme Court will rule on Wednesday on an appeal by six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with HIV. Following is a chronology of key events in the case: Feb. 1999 - Nineteen Bulgarian medical workers are detained in investigation into how children at a hospital in Benghazi became infected with HIV. Thirteen are later freed. Feb. 7, 2000 - Trial formally opens in Tripoli of six Bulgarians, a Palestinian doctor and nine Libyans accused of deliberately infecting the children with HIV-contaminated blood products. June 2000 - The six Bulgarians say the confessions at the centre of their case were extracted through torture. June 2, 2001 - After 12 adjournments, trial begins in earnest. Sept. 3, 2003 - French doctor Luc Montagnier testifies the epidemic broke out a year before the arrival of the Bulgarians. Sept. 8 - Libyan prosecutors demand death sentences for the six Bulgarians and the Palestinian. May 6, 2004 - Five Bulgarian nurses -- Nasya Nenova, Snezhana Dimitrova, Valentina Siropolu, Christiana Valcheva and Valia Cherveniashka -- and the Palestinian doctor, Ashraf Alhajouj, are sentenced to death for deliberately infecting the children. The Bulgarian doctor, Zdravko Georgiev, is released on time served. The nine Libyan defendants are acquitted. June 7, 2005 - Nine Libyan policemen and a doctor are acquitted of torturing the medics. Dec. 25 - The Supreme Court overturns the death sentences, sending case back to a lower court for retrial. Jan. 21, 2006 - Victims' families demand total of 4.4 billion euros ($5.9 billion) from donors to settle the case. July 4 - During retrial, defendants again deny charges. Dec. 6 - International scientists, who rebuilt history of virus from samples from the children, show the HIV subtype began infecting patients before the foreign medics arrived. Dec. 19 - After a seven-month retrial, the five Bulgarians and the Palestinian are again found guilty and sentenced to death. Relatives of the children hail the ruling. Jan. 29 - Saif al-Islam, a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, says the six will not be executed. Feb. 11, 2007 - The five nurses appear in criminal court on charges of defaming a Libyan policeman and a doctor by accusing them of extracting confessions by torture. Two other policemen later join the case as plaintiffs. May 27 - Defamation charges are dismissed. The plaintiffs' lawyer says they will appeal. July 11 - Libyan Supreme Court to rule on an appeal by the six.
