Bulgarian intelligence services ‘under scrutiny’ for pressuring health rights activists [Advocacy Lab Content]

Bulgaria’s counter-intelligence service (SANS) launched an investigation into health rights activists advocating for the establishment of a state-run children’s hospital. The move provoked an intense backlash.

The development unfolds in the context of a tug-of-war between advocates for building a state hospital for children in Sofia, and those behind a private project. The advocates for building a state hospital insist that its services would be widely accessible, while the private project would benefit a limited number of paying clients.

Maria Sharkova, a medical law attorney and a member of the ‘Public Council to Build a National Children’s Hospital’, told Euractiv she received a call from a SANS agent in June following a report filed by the Trade League, one of Bulgaria’s largest drug distribution companies.

Trade League wants to build a private hospital focused on children’s healthcare in Sofia. According to Sharkova, every activist from the Public Council received a call to be questioned by SANS.

The private project

The Trade League company insists on building the private hospital “Mom and Me” in Sofia. The caretaker government of Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev was quick to issue a permit for the project to the Trade League as soon as it took power in May 2024.

The day after the permit was issued, the government came under serious public and political pressure and cancelled its decision. The harshest criticism of the government’s support of the private project came from the Public Council, which has been defending the state project – the project was initiated more than a decade ago.

“We have not spoken against the “Mom and Me” hospital. We have expressed serious concern about the lack of transparency in both the government’s decisions [for the consent, and for its withdrawal],” Sharkova explained.

She added that SANS explained to her that their investigation was related to protecting national security from threats against the national interests, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Bulgaria.

“To this day, I don’t know how we can threaten national security by expressing our opinion,” said Sharkova.

The state project

For years, health activists have been putting pressure on the state to invest in the creation of a national children’s hospital. This would provide comprehensive care for children’s health under one roof, which the country currently lacks.

The Public Council claims said the Trade League project would render the state project meaningless, as it would take on board a large portion of the available health personnel.

After this public position was taken, the Trade League filed reports against the health activists.

Euractiv contacted Trade League with questions about the rationale behind its decision to file the report and its motivations to engage SANS. The company did not give a direct answer but sent a list of links to media publications defending its project.

In one of the quoted articles, the Trade League announced that the Public Council to Build a National Children’s Hospital had conducted an “illegal campaign” against their private project.

A lawyer’s prerogative

The public scandal surrounding the intervention of special services against health activists led to a response by the Supreme Bar Council, which announced that lawyers, among which Maria Sharkova, were being put under unacceptable pressure.

In a statement, the Supreme Bar Council said it: “stands unwaveringly behind fellow lawyers and declares that it will defend their right to express opinions on topics important to society, including those related to health care, justice and other important areas of public life.”

The Bar’s leadership remarked that it is unacceptable for lawyers to be put in a situation that violates the attorney-client privilege – which is guaranteed by law.

Bar spokesman Krasimir Nedev said there was a “monstrous war” going on, the prize being the money taxpayers pay for health care.

“Part of this real war is the plot for the so-called children’s hospital. At the signal of one of the “armies”, in a flash, SANS and the Anti-Corruption Commission decided to direct the arrows of (alleged) state justice against (…) the Public Council for the construction of a new children’s hospital,” commented Nedev.

At the beginning of the year, pressure on the government to build a national children’s hospital intensified. In January, protests were held in the larger cities under the slogan “Drive the mafia out of health care”.

They were organised by the foundation established in memory of 15-year-old Danaya Kuleva, who died in 2023 after failing to receive timely medical treatment in Sofia. Protesters lined up unworn children’s shoes in front of the Council of Ministers, symbolising children’s lives lost due to the lack of a state children’s hospital in the country.

[By Krassen Nikolov, Edited by Vasiliki Angouridi, Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab]

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