I Held my Head High
8 Years in the Libyan Jails

Kristyiana Valcheva is the Bulgarian nurse unjustly accused of heading a plot that led to 400 Libyan children becoming contaminated with the Aids virus.

For the first time she describes her eight years of hell and her struggle to survive her horrific ordeal.

Held hostage in Libyan jails for over 8 years, tortured almost beyond endurance and condemned to death by a kangaroo court, Kristyiana Valcheva is a true heroine. At the hearings, as she declared her innocence, she would she would brandish a picture of St George, patron saint of the Bulgarian army, slaying the dragon. She would take her stand in the witness box with her face made up and her hair coloured red to prove to the Libyan regime that she was still full of life and they would never break her spirit. For weeks she obstinately refused to sign untranslated confessions in Arabic, calling to the others to do the same.

In this book Kristyiana Valcheva proclaims her innocence to the world. She refuses to accept that she is still regarded as guilty in Libya. This book is another stage in her fight to stand up tall. Now more than ever, she keeps her head held high.