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Harassed
February 20
Valentin Hadzhiev, 24 Chasa, HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION
Mitko Shtirkov, Trud, HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION
Hadzhiev and Shtirkov, reporters for the independent dailies 24 Chasa and Trud, respectively, were detained in the city of Smolyan on charges of slander. The two journalists were released the next day, but the charges against them still stand. On Feb. 19, Hadzhiev and Shtirkov had published articles stating that a newly appointed prosecutor in the city of Devin had been dismissed from the Devin police force in 1992 for bribery. A district prosecutor in Smolyan accused the journalists of reporting false facts and charged them with slander under Articles 146 and 148 of the Bulgarian Criminal Code. CPJ wrote to President Zhelyu Zhelev and Prime Minister Jan Videnov, urging them to drop the charges against the journalists.
For more information contact europeweb@cpj.org