Mr. Kancho Bonev is president of the association “Varna – free economic zone.” He is one of the most active citizens, exercising the right under the APIA regarding the problems with the Sea Garden in Varna which led to a number of civil protests. On April 24, 2012, the citizen Kancho Bonev went to the Regional Geodesy, Cartography and Cadaster Service in Varna to get the information which he had been granted access by a decision. Eventually, Bonev did not get factual access to the requested information and decided to write his objections in the protocol which was to be signed by the requestor and the provider at the receipt of the information. The Head of the Service declined to countersign the protocol. And when Kancho Bobev tried to leave the building with the protocol unsigned by the Head of the Service, she called the security officer. The meeting ended with Kancho Bonev’s eye-bruise, a night at the arrest and charges for hooliganism raised against him by the Varna Regional Prosecution Office. The case was described in an article in AIP Newsletter, issue 4, April 2012: Fight and Arrest for a Documents under the APIA

Mr. Boychev is a former officer in the army. He has initiated 6 cases under the APIA against different institutions in Bulgaria in order to push his cause that charges to the state may be paid with state stamps which are legitimate means of payment. So that people can avoid commissions to banks for transfer to the institutions. Boychev is really active as a citizen, constantly bringing actions for access to information. He has won a case against the Minister of Defense regarding information on layoffs in the Bulgarian Army. He has two other dismissed cases on specific requests under the APIA regarding cuts in certain positions. 

He has three other cases on different procedural stages against the Regional Prosecutor of Haskovo. One of the litigations is about privacy of personal correspondence of the citizens, the other one is about a refusal for access to information from the prosecutor’s office regarding an investigation of police officers on issuing a false act for a traffic violation. His sixth case is on a refusal for access to files led in the Ministry of Interior. Actually, Boychev is preparing a seventh case under the APIA again against the Ministry of Defense. He had requested data on the accident with the MiG-29 combat jet, but the answer was brief and did not satisfy him. Todor Boychev is actively working for stopping the vicious practice of passivity and silence of the Bulgarian institutions. 

Mr. Ivan Atanassov is an owner of the “Sacar news” website and the local “Novini” (News) newspaper. He won two cases under the APIA against the mayor of the town. The first case was against a refusal of the Mayor Mihail Liskov to provide information on the municipality’s financial audit. Assisted by AIP, Atanassov won the case before the second instance  as well– the Supreme Administrative Court. 

The second case was initiated against a silent refusal of the mayor of the Municipality of Harmanli to provide information on fees, travel expenses and business trip expenses paid to a lawyer firm from the capital, which was hired by the municipality. A second instance decision is pending on this case.In addition to the two cases, Atanasov worked actively and has exercised civic and journalistic pressure on all institutions in Harmanli to provide information in due time. The reason for this nomination, made by AIP coordinator in Haskovo, is not just winning the two cases, but the long-lasting and purposeful activity of Atanassov in this direction.