HIV INJECTION MEN SENTENCED

The three Dutch men on trial for drugging and injecting 12 other men with HIV positive blood have been sentenced by a court in the city of Groningen in northern Netherlands.

Forty nine year old Peter M, who was also found guilty of rape, was sentenced to nine years in prison while thirty nine year old Hans J was given a five year prison sentence. Under Dutch law, the surnames of prisoners may not be released.

The third man in the case was acquitted of a number of charges and only received 18 months in jail.

Twelve victims, all of whom are now HIV positive, said that they were invited on the internet by the men to orgies, where they were drugged with the date rape drug GHB and ecstasy.

They claimed that they were then raped and injected with the infected blood.

The judge said that the men were convicted of only attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm because it could not be conclusively proven that they were actually responsible for infecting the victims.

Prosecutors, who had called for 15 year prison sentences, disagreed and said that they would appeal for longer sentences.