Sustained pressure from local journalists and domestic and international press freedom advocates, including CPJ, pushed the Bulgarian Parliament to modify its press law, eliminating jail sentences for libel. The reform, which was approved by Parliament on January 12, 2000, also forces public officials to press libel charges themselves rather than having the prosecutor’s office launch…
July 26, 1999 His Excellency Petar Stoyanov President of the Republic of Bulgaria VIA FAX: 011 359 2 875 601/011 359 2 822 574 Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by the June 28th assault on journalist Alexei Lazarov in Sofia. Lazarov, a media reporter for the popular independent weekly…