The ECHR condemned Bulgaria for a law that allows the infiltration of intelligence services into NGOs and government agencies, violating the right to private life.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Bulgaria for a law that allows intelligence services to infiltrate companies, NGOs, and government agencies in the name of national security.

Seized by an environmental NGO, the ECHR established that this law violates the right to private life, emphasizing that the mere existence of the regulation constitutes a violation of the rights of the complaining organization, without the need to demonstrate the risk of infiltration. Although the ECHR did not impose financial sanctions, it concluded that the current regulations do not provide minimal protection against abuses.

The law, in force since 2008 and extended in 2018, allows the national counterintelligence agency to place informants in structures without the consent of the directors, without a time limit and without them being informed.