A lawyer of the 'Ovcharov & Parushev' law firm was successfully involved in two-days legal battle over the case concerning the first of the Greenpeace so called 'direct actions' to happen in Bulgaria. Six of the activists were arrested by the police after 3-hour blockade over a Gazprom petrol station in Blagoevgrad in Thursday, 26th of September 2013. They faced charges of minor hooliganism and brought before the Regional Court in Blagoevgrad. Exact identity of the client cannot be revealed, as such advertisement of a law firm is prohibited by art. 42, para. 4 of the national Attorney's Act and the Attorney's Code of Ethics.
Notably, the court's verdict shows significant development to the jurisprudence of the national courts on cases of hooliganism charges or related to non-violent protest actions. It further develops on the existing courts case-law and administrative practice of the police authorities.
The court reasoning states that although some deeds of the accused persons formally under 'hooliganism' definition', no punishment shall be imposed, due to very low danger to the society and since their cause is just and virtue. The defendants were acquitted of the charges. Nonetheless, they had already paid a police fine for disobeying direct police orders.
More info: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=154049