The founder of the Centre for protection of rights in healthcare Teodora Zaharieva was distinguished with the big award 'Man of the year' in the yearly nominations of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee for her contribution to human rights. Teodora Zaharieva and the Centre for protection of rights in healthcare have won against the authorities lawsuits with huge public interest in favour of thousands of people, for tens of thousands of leva. These are lawsuits for doctors' errors, refusal of treatment, inadequate equipment, lack of action of the authorities to accept necessary norms that guarantee the right to quality healthcare and to provide medicines. They include revolutionary collective claims in protection of whole categories of patients. There are lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for damages to health after clinical trials. These lawsuits display 'true right-defending thinking and determination - belief that human rights belong to us and they are possible, and that depends on us' - these were some of the motives of the jury.
This year the nominations were made by the Bulgarian public and a jury had the task to determine the winners of the awards. In Bulgaria there are problems with human rights but there are also people who fight for their rights and the rights of others, declared Krasimir Kunev - Chairman of BHC. The nominated persons and organizations this year have been over 60.