Access to Information Programme presented the annual Freedom of Information Awards to mark the 22nd International Right to Know Day.
The ceremony was held at the Peroto Literary Club ("The Quill") in the National Palace of Culture, with the participation of citizens, journalists, and representatives of civil society organizations and public institutions.
The 2024 awards were divided into the six traditional categories.
- Category “Citizen who used the right to information most actively”
The “Golden Key” award went to
Vladislava Tsarigradska for her active use of the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) to seek information on events and activities in the judiciary that threaten the independence and proper functioning of the courts. As a judge sitting at the Pleven Regional Court, she is striving to establish the truth about the electronic vote for the election of judges to the Supreme Judicial Council, which was conducted in June 2022 under questionable circumstances through computers at the Supreme Administrative Court. It is thanks to her actions that the issue of possible manipulation of judicial elections became widely known and created the impetus for legislative amendments to the election mechanism.
The honorary diploma went to:
Dr. Elena Georgieva-Ivanova for her active use of the APIA to seek information concerning violations in the largest university-run obstetrics and gynecology hospital in the country — “Maychin Dom.” The purpose of the submitted information requests is to prove beyond any doubt that the management of the "Maychin Dom" Hospital is running the hospital in a way that does not comply with national regulations, which leads to misuse of public funds and increases staff turnover in the hospital, thus endangering the lives of patients.
- Category “NGO that used the right to information most actively”
The “Golden Key” award went to
The informal citizen association “Water for Omurtag” that strives to provide constantly flowing clean drinking water for the Municipality of Omurtag, where there has been no permanent water supply for the past 50 years. The association uses the APIA to gain access to various documents relevant to solving the water crisis. They trace the inter-institutional correspondence on the issue and show the specific commitments that the various responsible persons have made in their many meetings with other institutions. The large-scale civic initiative turned the “Water for Omurtag” case into a project that drew the attention of the entire country, raising awareness about a topic that everyone has now heard of amd aiming that the problem of Omurtag's water supply will gradually find its solution.
The honorary diploma went to
Civic Organization “Justice, Rights and Cultural Cooperation on the Balkans”, registered in the city of Bursa, Turkey, whose mission is to seek justice for the victims of the totalitarian communist regime in Bulgaria during the so-called “Revival Process.” The members of the organization are using the APIA to seek information from the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office concerning actions or omissions of the competent authorities, in order to establish the relevant facts and support an effective investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators in the events of the late 80s that caused violence, violations of fundamental rights and the displacement of over 350,000 Bulgarians of Turkish origin abroad.
- Category “Best journalist campaign/article related to the right to information”
The “Golden Key” award went to
Valya Ahchieva, investigative journalist, for the unsettling investigation (“About Danaya, the lie and the hospital“; “Tangled in the lies about Danaya“), which, with the help of an information request under the APIA, revealed the flaws of the Bulgarian health system through the lens of the tragic story of the 15-year-old Danaya who lost her life in the Pirogov Hospital in May 2023. The investigation resulted in amendments in the relevant legal framework and in the flawed procedure of the National Health Insurance Fund. With the help of the APIA, Valya Ahchieva uncovered the truth about corrupt practices in the Bulgarian healthcare system that lead to loss of innocent human lives.
The honorary diploma went to
BIRD (Bureau of Investigative Reporting and Data) for actively using the APIA in its investigations. The media outlet has submitted information requests to various institutions, among which the Ministry of Finance, the National Revenue Agency, the State Reserve and Wartime Stocks Agency, etc. One of the more significant cases involving use of the APIA concerned access to the documents from the arbitration case between the Omani Fund and the Bulgarian state, represented by the Ministry of Finance.
- Category „Institution that has organized the provision of public information most efficiently
The “Golden Key” award went to
The Ruzhintsi Municipality that fulfils its obligations under the APIA strictly and consistently. The administrative officials and the municipal Mayor are open to the public and the media, publishing up-to-date information of interest to the public, as well as regarding their work, on social media. The “Access to Information” section on their website contains all the relevant information and is updated regularly.
- Category „Institution that does not fulfill its obligations under the APIA and violates citizens’ right to information”
The “Padlock” anti-award went to
The Sofia-City Municipality, owing to the persisting lack of transparency in that municipality that has remained unchanged for several terms. In the period 2014 – 2016, the Sofia Municipality was in top 20 of the best-performing institutions based on AIP’s proactive transparency rating. However, it has been steadily declining since then, and in 2024 the largest municipality having the largest budget in Bulgaria occupies the 61st place in that ranking. The issues concern both the active publication of information on the website of the institution and the responses to information requests under the APIA.
The „dishonourary“ diploma went to
The Kozloduy NPP on account of its systemic refusals to provide public information under the APIA and in view of the SLAPP proceedings instigated (now terminated) by the institution against the 2023 “Golden Key” award winner Nataliya Stancheva.
- Category „Most absurd and/or funniest case involving access to information”
The Anti-Corruption Commission/the Commission for the Forfeiture of Illegally Acquired Property, owing to their refusal to provide access to their decisions on claims for forfeiture of illegally acquired property in the period from 2018 to the beginning of 2022. Following the instigation of legal proceedings, the court held that the decisions of the Commission for Anti-Corruption and the Forfeiture of Illegally Acquired Property cannot be considered an administrative secret and must be disclosed. The CAFIAP filed an action to invalidate the court judgment, but it was dismissed. In 2024, the CFIAP (the new name of the Commission) once again refused access to the same information, stating that it constituted personal data and another type of protected secret, although the court had already held otherwise. In addition, in view of the Commission’s division into two separate legal entities (AC and CFIAP) having the same members, both institutions remain silent on the questions (submitted in an information requested under the APIA) of whether their members are receiving two salaries for their participation in each of the two new commissions, what the size of their gross salaries is and how it is calculated.
The „dishonourary“ diploma went to
The Petrich Municipality – in his response to an information request under the APIA, the Mayor of Petrich pointed out that the requestor, the association “Taxi club-Bulgaria,” was registered in Sofia, but was seeking information regarding the municipal budget and the fees and taxes collected from a taxi service in Petrich. According to the Public Finance Act, the scope of persons that have a right to control the respective municipal budget and seek information regarding funds from that budget and their expenditure is limited to “the local community,” meaning citizens registered in the territory of the respective municipality. It is, however, absurd to make an assessment based on the residence of the requestor, given that the right to information is guaranteed to every citizen, foreigner and even stateless person.
The full rationale behind each of the 34 nominations received can be found on the dedicated Right to Know Day page: http://www.righttoknowday.net/nominations/2024/ .
Interviews with the winners will be published in the AIP newsletter, as well as on the dedicated Right to Know Day page: http://www.righttoknowday.net. You can also follow our Facebook page.
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Right-to-Know Day 2023 Campaign and Ceremony is run within the project Access to Information and Transparency Advice Center supported by a grant from America for Bulgaria Fondation. The statements and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the Access to Information Programme and do not necessarily reflect the views of teh America for Bulgaria Foundation or its affiliates.