Foreign medics released from a Libyan jail late last month were tortured into confessing they deliberately infected hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said in remarks aired on Thursday.

The five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were freed on July 24 after a deal between Tripoli and the European Union, having spent eight years in jail.

Earlier this week, the lawyer of the Palestinian doctor told Reuters the latter was tortured into confessing he deliberately infected the children. Speaking in an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera television, Gaddafi's son confirmed the allegation of torture. "There was torture with electricity...there was a threat to attack their families," Saif al-Islam said.

Some of the children were infected with the virus that causes AIDS before the medics arrived in Libya and one case was reported after their arrest, he added.

© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)