Tomorrow a Libyan court will release its verdict on whether to sentence six foreign medical workers to death.

Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor are accused of deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV in a Libyan hospital in 1998. Scientists and medical groups have rallied behind the medics, with forceful letters highlighting the scientific evidence of their innocence.

The diplomatic community seems to be less energized. Both the European Union and the United States have called for a fair trial. But when the United States resumed diplomatic relations with Libya this spring, the plight of the medics was not part of the deal. And in a recent press conference, a spokesperson for the US State Department was dismissive of evidence published last week in Nature that would exonerate the accused.

Many familiar with the trial are pessimistic about the outcome. Whether the EU and the US are exerting enough pressure on Libya for a fair verdict should become clear tomorrow. If the medics are sentenced to death, it would not only be a miscarriage of justice; it may also reflect a failure of diplomatic will.

To learn more about the trial, go to Declan Butler’s blog. Declan is a reporter at Nature, who is following the case. Mickey Grant, an independent film-maker, has also covered the trial in his movie, “Injection," which I reviewed for news@nature. Grant explores the probable cause of the childrens’ infection—poor medical practices, which he claims are rife and underreported in Africa.