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Legal Action
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.
September 5
All radio and television, LEGAL ACTION
The Bulgarian Parliament passed a bill outlining the formation of a new National Radio and Television Council, which was to be responsible for monitoring broadcasts and appointing directors to state-run radio and television. The Parliament overrode President Zhelyu Zhelev's veto against the bill. Zhelev submitted the law to the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria for further examination. On Nov.14, the Constitutional Court invalidated 15 provisions of the electronic media law. The judges declared unconstitutional the formation of an 11-seat National Radio and TV Council based on political criteria and on parliamentary representation. The provisions that such a council, which would have been a state organ, approve program schemes and program content and have the right to cancel programs, were also declared unconstitutional. The court also invalidated articles that would have deprived the judiciary of free airtime and banned journalists from giving "subjective" commentaries.
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