NTW is happy to inform about the unprecedented claim of 500,000 BGN (253,837 euro) – a SLAPP case filed by the Kozlody Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) against the nurse Nataliya Stancheva who revealed violations of the law at the Bulgarian nuclear power plant – has been withdrawn (see NTW’s position on the case below).
POSITION OF NTW: NTW calls Bulgarian NPP Kozloduy to withdraw the SLAPP case against the citizen Nataliya Stancheva.
As the largest and most respected non-governmental organization with main objective of ensuring transparency and safety in nuclear energy, with members from 26 European countries, the experts of Nuclear Transparency Watch express our strong concern regarding the SLAPP case filed by the Bulgarian NPP Kozloduy against the citizen Nataliya Stancheva. The huge amount of the nuclear plant’s claim of half a million BGN (251,300 euros) against a citizen who disclosed violations of the plant through a legal request for information speaks of a typical slap case.
The power plant filed a claim for this record amount against a citizen who, through numerous applications for access to public information, revealed that a polyclinic was operating on the territory of the NPP, in violation of the law. Nataliya Stancheva, who is a former nurse at the plant, submitted dozens of applications for access to public information, as a result of which it became clear that the office of occupational medicine at the plant was turned into an unregistered Diagnostic-Consultative Medical Center and provided such services to employees in an unregulated manner. For her revelations, Natalia Stancheva receives the “Golden Key” award of the Access to Information Program in September 2023 on the occasion of the International Right to Know Day. The violation of the Law on Medical Facilities was found by the Regional Health Inspectorate in Vratsa and the illegal polyclinic was closed.
Kozloduy NPP accuses Stancheva and her mother of abusing rights under Art. 45 and Art. 56 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria. The plant’s claims are ridiculous since neither the Constitution nor any other legal act sets limits on the number of complaints, proposals and petitions that a citizen can make.
We publicly state that the Bulgarian nuclear power plant’s filing of a SLAPP case with such a huge claim for non-existent damages against a citizen who took care of the safety of Bulgarian and European citizens and general legality in the industry is a slap in the face of the responsibility to society and shame on the management of “NPP Kozloduy” JSC. The state-controlled company is responsible for producing electricity for the benefit of consumers, not to spend funds to cover the legal costs of such cases brought by it. The NTW experts insist that the Bulgarian Minister of Energy take an attitude in his capacity of carrying out control functions towards “NPP Kozloduy” PLC.
We insist that “NPP Kozloduy” PLC withdraw its claim against Natalia Stancheva and her mother from the court in Vratsa as soon as possible.
The Management Board of Nuclear Transparency Watch
13.01.2024
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