Prosecutors have blamed the head of the Pharmaceutical Union for the panic.

The President of the Pharmaceutical Union of Bulgaria, Prof. Asena Stoimenova, has been accused by the prosecution of panic attacks over her appearances in the media. Stoimenova, herself, said in a statement to the media about her prosecution accusation.

“Today, on April 10, 2020, I received an accusation from the Bulgarian prosecution under art. 326, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code (CC), in relation to my interviews with the Bulgarian National Radio and the Bulgarian National Television on the supply of drugs in the country in the context of the pandemic with Covid-19. In these media appearances, I inform Bulgarian society about important issues: the storage of medicines, the need for prescription medicines, the flexibility of legislation and the likelihood of a shortage of certain medicines. I also appealed to humanity in the work of control institutions while maintaining their capacity for control. “Stoimenova says.

The accusation is due to allegations of an expected lack of drugs.

The prosecution confirmed the charge and said it was related. “With a series of statements that give rise to unfounded public concern in the context of a state of emergency”. “In view of the high public danger of the act, which consists of making unsubstantiated allegations of the expected lack of medicines, a restraining measure was taken against Stoimenov. “Cash guarantee” in the amount of BGN 20,000“The investigation is under the supervision of the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office.”

Stoimenov’s remarks about the expected drug shortage in European and global markets due to coronavirus have been a main topic in global media for more than two months and have been the focus of attention of European institutions and regulators.

Stoimenova: EMA and WHO representatives may be blamed for this logic

“The crime under article 326, paragraph 1, of the Penal Code, as such, against order and public peace obviously protects public relations related to the unnecessary participation of a significant public resource for the prevention and overcoming of changes. Adverse events that have arisen as a result of the act. What significant public resource have my interviews involved? And what is the public danger? Rather, I report discussing possible ways of dealing with the situation. If we follow the “logic” of the accusation, the CEO of the European Medicines Agency, whose website regularly publishes information on the shortage of medicines in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and regulatory approaches to overcome them, could be blamed. . In addition to representatives of the World Health Organization, the EU Executive Committee on the shortage of medicines caused by major events, hospital executives and doctors from nine European countries, who said in an open letter last week that There are only two weeks’ stock of medicines, and he called for greater European cooperation to solve the problem, as well as dozens of representatives of institutions in our country, in the EU and in the United States, commenting on the issue. “Stoimenova commented.

He claims that any message, statement and assumption in his appearances in the media is based on his 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, acquired in the marketing of drugs, drugs and medicines, pharmaceutical safety and public administration and published analysis and information and lacks of the characteristics that the prosecution attributes to them.

We report despite threats.

Stoimenova recalls that even before the announcement of the state of emergency, pharmaceutical teachers in Bulgaria were subjected to massive controls by 5-6 institutions at the same time, which hindered both their work and the service of citizens.

“On several occasions in media appearances, I and my colleagues have recounted how the controls were initially performed and in contrast to what the practice of European regulators is currently difficult for all of us.”Stoimenova explains.

“Undoubtedly, some structures in this country can apply dissuasive methods. I never questioned that. On the contrary, as director of the Executive Agency for Medicines in the period 2014-2018, I had the opportunity to” test “on their own their techniques, some of which were covered by the media. Despite the threats, the leadership of the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union continued to inform the public about current problems and support Bulgarian pharmacists, who are among the medical specialists front line in the fight against Covid-19. And will continue to do so …, she says.

Stoimenova also commented that a brief review of the cases under art. 326, paragraph 1, in which the accusation is against him, shows that the cases under this article are for false signs of explosive devices and false calls for help by phone 112 … “To equate the provision of objective information on possible situations in the supply of medicines that are preventable and solvable, presented in an indisputably balanced manner, based on analysis, recommendations of the World Health Organization, the EC, the European Medicines Agency, etc. sources of false calls or misleading signs of assistance, accident or alarm means a serious violation of the principles enshrined in the Regulations Act. “Stoimenova commented.

“Although some of our fundamental rights are currently restricted in a state of emergency, we live in a state of law, where disputes are resolved through a fair trial, and the state is responsible for the illegal acts and actions of its authorities and Although we cannot move and meet freely and our daily lives have changed dramatically, we can still think and think critically. Obviously, we are facing not only a Covid-19 pandemic, but also something very different from fighting a virus : a crisis that is not health and has long-term consequences. And what do we call it?she says.