Against all our best hopes, the Libyan court has delivered the worst verdict possible: it sentenced six foreign medical workers accused of deliberately infecting children with HIV to be shot.

The defense says it will appeal to the Libyan supreme court.

The Libyan courts have refused to consider scientific evidence that the more than 400 children infected at a Libyan hospital were the victims of unsafe medical practices—and that the outbreak had begun before the medics arrived. Whether the diplomatic community has been forceful enough in pushing this evidence forward is unclear. An article in today’s New York Times, for instance, says that some diplomats have suggested that the US response has been muted.

Despite the efforts of the scientific community in the last few months, continuing activism—and stepped up diplomatic pressure—will be necessary if the medics are to have any hope. In Declan’s article on news@nature, Emmanuel Altit, head of the international defense team backs up this view. He says that the international community can help by insisting that the scientific evidence of the medic’s innocence be included.