"Kadhafi is lost. It would now be impossible (for him) to re-establish his regime," cheered Snezhana Dimitrova, one of the nurses finally freed in 2007 with the help of the European Commission and France.

"I hope very strongly that Kadhafi will be ousted and the Libyan people will turn to democracy," another of the nurses, Nasya Nenova said.

But having seen the worst of Kadhafi's regime during their emprisonment, two other nurses -- Valya Chervenyashka and Valentina Siropolu -- were less optimistic.

"I do not believe that Kadhafi will let go, he will find a way to get out of it," Chervenyashka said, adding that Kadhafi's regime was "unpredictable".

The five nurses had worked for years at the hospital in the eastern city of Benghazi, a long-time hotbed of Kadhafi opposition that has become the frontline of the bloodiest clashes between demonstrators and armed forces loyal to the Libyan dictator.

Many Bulgarian medics are still working in Libyan hospitals even now.

"I have awaited these events. I hope there will be a revolt one day," said Kristiana Valcheva, who had worked and lived in Benghazi for 10 years before her arrest in 1999.

She said an anti-Kadhafi spirit was always felt around town.

When the AIDS epidemics broke out at the Benghazi children's hospital, infecting over 400 children, the Libyan government hurried to accuse the foreign medics for it, arresting the five nurses and a Palestinian doctor.

The six were accused of spreading the infection in order to "undermine" Kadhafi's regime.

During the eight years in jail and their two death sentences all of the nurses maintained their innocence and testified they had been tortured to confess.

The Libyan courts meanwhile disregarded testimony by foreign medical experts, who said the epidemics resulted from poor hygiene.

The six, who were flown back to Bulgaria after Libya agreed to commute their death sentences to life imprisonment, were pardoned and freed upon setting foot back home.

But on Thursday they cheered the news that Libya's Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who quit the regime, had finally recognised their innocence in an interview with Al-Jazeera television.

"The minister admitted to Al-Jazeera that Kadhafi's regime was responsible for the AIDS infection. I have always believed that the truth will triumph," Valya Chervenyashka said.

"The fact that the Libyans recognised our innocence is what counts the most," Snezhana Dimitrova added.

The nurses said they shuddered at the thought of what would have happened to them if they were still in jail in Libya, saying they would have probably been killed by the authorities.

"I enjoy every one of my days of freedom," Kristiana Valcheva said.

All of the nurses have returned to practicing their profession in Bulgaria.

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