Charges in French blood case

Paris (AFP) - A Senate committee yesterday relaunched legal proceedings against Laurent Fabius, the former prime minister, and two of his ministers in connection with France's HIV-tainted blood scandal. Mr Fabius and his ministers of health, Edmond Herve, and social affairs, Georgina Dufoix, will be charged with manslaughter and unintentionally causing bodily harm.

Prosecutors of the High Court had earlier dropped charges of failing to assist persons in danger because of a three-year statute of limitations. The limit for the new accusations is 10 years. The former ministers are accused of taking inadequate and tardy measures to halt the deliberate distribution of HIV-tainted blood in 1984 and 1985.