ROMANIAN journalist George Buhnici was sentenced by the Rousse Regional Court on December 3 to pay a fine of 1000 leva for filming with a hidden camera on Bulgarian territory.
He must also pay the investigation expenses of 200 leva, plus 620 leva court expenses.
The camera with which he was caught was to be confiscated.
The court handed down a gulity verdict, invoking Article 339a of the Bulgarian Penal Code, which forbids the using of special technical devices for secret filming or recording and provides for up to three years in jail for such violations.
The Rousse court, however, took into account many mitigating circumstances.
Defence lawyers said Buhnici would appeal against the verdict, even though he said that he was relieved and pleased with the sentence.
After the court session the prosecution announced that they would also appeal against the decision.
Buhnici was arrested at the Danube Bridge border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Romania on November 16 after being caught filming the duty free shop on Bulgarian territory with a camera hidden in his spectacles. He said he was investigating alleged corrupt practices in the duty free shops on both sides of the border.
The prosecution claimed the Romanian journalist was filming officers at the Bulgarian border checkpoint. "No one in Bulgaria can be subjected to surveillance or filming without his or her knowledge and consent, except when this is done by the Interior Ministry, in accordance with the law, to investigate serious crimes," prosecutor Borislav Velkov said.
The prosecution claimed Buhnici committed the crime intentionally, because there was evidence that he tried to put the hidden camera away before he was searched at the border checkpoint, which means he knew that he was breaking the law.
Velkov asked for a suspended sentence of one year and a half with three years of probation.
Buhnici pleaded "not guilty" to all charges.
The defence argued that the operation of customs and border services was not a matter of privacy, and Buhnici's equipment was not a special technical or surveillance means.
The court is still to rule on Buhnici's request to be allowed to leave Bulgaria and go home to his family.
He must also pay the investigation expenses of 200 leva, plus 620 leva court expenses.
The camera with which he was caught was to be confiscated.
The court handed down a gulity verdict, invoking Article 339a of the Bulgarian Penal Code, which forbids the using of special technical devices for secret filming or recording and provides for up to three years in jail for such violations.
The Rousse court, however, took into account many mitigating circumstances.
Defence lawyers said Buhnici would appeal against the verdict, even though he said that he was relieved and pleased with the sentence.
After the court session the prosecution announced that they would also appeal against the decision.
Buhnici was arrested at the Danube Bridge border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Romania on November 16 after being caught filming the duty free shop on Bulgarian territory with a camera hidden in his spectacles. He said he was investigating alleged corrupt practices in the duty free shops on both sides of the border.
The prosecution claimed the Romanian journalist was filming officers at the Bulgarian border checkpoint. "No one in Bulgaria can be subjected to surveillance or filming without his or her knowledge and consent, except when this is done by the Interior Ministry, in accordance with the law, to investigate serious crimes," prosecutor Borislav Velkov said.
The prosecution claimed Buhnici committed the crime intentionally, because there was evidence that he tried to put the hidden camera away before he was searched at the border checkpoint, which means he knew that he was breaking the law.
Velkov asked for a suspended sentence of one year and a half with three years of probation.
Buhnici pleaded "not guilty" to all charges.
The defence argued that the operation of customs and border services was not a matter of privacy, and Buhnici's equipment was not a special technical or surveillance means.
The court is still to rule on Buhnici's request to be allowed to leave Bulgaria and go home to his family.
