site.btaGovernment Proposes Penal CodeAmendments for More Effective Fight against Terrorism

Government Proposes Penal Code Amendments for More Effective Fight against Terrorism

Sofia, April 1 (BTA) - The Council of Ministers proposed
amendments to the Penal Code aimed to provide proper legal
protection against terrorism, Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov
told the media on Wednesday.

The bill will eliminate imperfections in the Penal Code in the
context of a potential threat of terrorist activity and will
fulfill the requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 2178
of September 24, 2014, which condemned violent extremism and
underscored the need to prevent travel and support for foreign
terrorist fighters.

The list of measures against a potential terrorist threat
includes restricting the movement of persons who travel for the
purpose of planning or participating in terrorist acts, or to
provide or receive terrorist training; criminal prosecution of
any person involved in the financing or planning of terrorist
acts; and keeping terrorist groups from creating safe havens.

The bill seeks to expand the list of terrorist acts punishable
by criminal law by adding computer crimes which evolve into
cyberterrorism and some preliminary activities which can lead to
terrorist crimes abroad, such as crossing the national border
with that intention. The consent of a person to be trained in
terrorist activities will also be considered a crime. The
trainer will not be punished if he comes forward and tells the
authorities about it and discloses everything he knows about the
criminal activities concerned.