By. Steph Cockroft. A French doctor faces life imprisonment if he is convicted of poisoning seven terminally-ill patients at a hospital in Bayonne, south west France. Nicolas Bonnemaison, 53, has been accused of administering lethal injections to the patients to help them die in alleged mercy killings. His lawyer Arnaud Dupin said Dr. Bonnemaison, who was struck off amid the allegations, faces life in prison if he is convicted of the charges. Nicolas Bonnemaison, 53, pictured left with his wife Julie and right with his lawyer Arnaud Dupin, arrived at the court in Pau, southwestern France, today where he will be tried for poisoning seven terminally-ill patients. The trial, which is taking place in Pau, near to the city of Bayonne, comes amid debate in France over whether to legalise. euthanasia or loosen laws on treatment for people with incurable. illnesses. The medic, who worked in the emergency department, is accused of having poisoned the terminally-ill patients - described as 'particularly vulnerable people' - between March 2010 and July 2011. He is also accused of having given drugs to the patients without asking other doctors' advice. During his first day in court, where he arrived supported by his wife Julie, Dr Bonnemaison said: 'I'm thinking of the patients today. 'You experience powerful things with terminally-ill patients, things that leave their mark on doctors. 'They leave their mark on the human being too, beyond our job as doctors. It's important that the family be informed so that they can understand what is going on.' Dr Bonnemaison faced a media circus as he arrived at the courthouse for. the start of his trial. He faces life imprisonment if he is convicted of. the crimes, his lawyer said. He added that he hoped he had been 'up to the challenge' before adding: 'I did what I could'. The case came to light in August 2011. after the doctor was reported to bosses by nurses and a carer who said they found his behaviour suspicious. The case, which came after the doctor was struck off, has stirred up considerable emotion, including among the victims' families. The trial has since stirred up considerable emotion,. including among the victims' families. In comments made on television as the trial began, the widow of one the patients said she had asked Bonnemaison to help her husband die, and that what the doctor did was 'good'. Patricia Dhooge, her voice shaking with emotion, said in remarks carried on French television Wednesday that 'it would hurt me very much if they gave him any kind of punishment'. A petition in favour of the defendant has also garnered 60,000 signatures. Euthanasia is illegal in France, but President Francois Hollande promised during his 2012 campaign to look into legalising the hugely divisive practice. A law passed in France in 2005 has already legalised passive euthanasia, where a person causes death by withholding or withdrawing treatment that is necessary to maintain life. Last year, a panel set up by Hollande also recommended legalising assisted suicide. That allows a doctor to provide a patient with all the necessary lethal substances to end their life, but lets them carry out the final act. . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.

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Nicolas Bonnemaison, 53, accused of giving lethal injections to patients. Alleged he poisoned terminally-ill patients at a hospital in Bayonne, south west France. The medic, who was struck off amid allegations, faces life in jail if found guilty.

Problem: Dead Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi raped hundreds of women during his years in power, and even kept a harem of sex slaves locked in the basement of his home, his former security chief has revealed. Mansour Daw, who stayed loyal to the tyrant until his downfall and subsequent death in 2011, said Gadaffi's sexual appetite was so strong that an entire government department was established to source and provide him with prostitutes. Many were kept in his Tripoli compound under lock and key where the dictator could call on their services night or day. And when he travelled abroad on state affairs, he would take them along, usually disguised as bodyguards or journalists, Daw said. Sex slaves? Muammar Gadaffi (pictured) would take the women on diplomacy missions to foreign countries disguised as bodyguards. Cravings: There was even an entire government department dedicated to sourcing and providing women for Gaddafi (left) on which he would carry out his sexual cravings. His wife, Safia Farkash, is pictured right. 'It fell under the umbrella of the Department of Protocol under the direction of Nuri Mesmari, a schemer who had the gall to parade around in a general’s uniform every now and then,' Daw told journalist Annick Cojean. '[Mesmari] had the nickname ‘the general of special affairs’ so the only word that was applicable could be avoided: General of the Whores.' Daw claimed to have known nothing of the basement 'dungeon' where many of Gadaffi's favourites were held under his compound in capital Tripoli. 'I swear I never went down to that basement!' he exclaimed, revealing no further details of the conditions under which they were held. And while most generals who turned a blind eye as he carried out his depraved activities with young women - and sometimes men - those who helped feed his vast sexual appetite were quickly promoted. '[Mesmari] looked for women everywhere; that was his specialty and his primary function; he would even pick up prostitutes on the street,' added Daw. Fast track to power: And while most generals who turned a blind eye as he carried out his depraved activities, those who helped feed his vast sexual appetite were fast promoted. The women accompanied the dictator on trips to western nations including France and Spain, Daw told Cojean, an excerpt of whose book, Gaddafi's Harem, has been published in Salon.com, where they would travel under the guise of ‘committees,’ ‘delegations,’ or ‘groups of journalists'. When asked about rumours Gaddafi even forced ministers to have sex with him, Daw replied: 'It doesn’t surprise me. 'There are so many ambitious people. There were. even those who were prepared to hand over their wife or daughter in. exchange for some favour or other.' Daw himself, however, insisted Gaddafi never propositioned him or any of his relatives, even at parties hosted by the security chief. 'He wouldn’t have dared to pounce on any of my guests,' he said. 'He knew all. too well what my reaction would have been. 'But I preferred that he be. somewhere else. Had he come he would surely have been accompanied by his. whores, always on the lookout, and that terrified me.' Gaddafi died during the NATO-backed. uprising in Libya on October 20 2011 when he was shot after being. taken prisoner by rebels. He was 69. Meanwhile, Daw is currently being held in a high-security prison in Libya where he awaits trial for war crimes.
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Answer:
Mansour Daw stayed loyal to the tyrant until his downfall and death in 2011. The Department of Protocol was set up to source women for Gaddafi. He would take groups of sex slaves on foreign trips disguised as guards.