SOFIA -- The leader of a pro-Russian political party in Bulgaria has been charged in Sofia with spreading false information about the coronavirus that could cause panic.
Kostadin Kostadinov, the chairman and founder of the Revival Party, confirmed to RFE/RL on March 30 that he had been indicted on the charges.
Earlier on March 30, the Sofia district prosecutor's office announced it had indicted "K.K., a leader of a political party," who claimed that emergency public-health measures in Bulgaria were "propaganda for diversion and are not in the interest of the citizens."
Prosecutors said the suspect also made misleading allegations of a lack of emergency supplies in Bulgarian government reserves.
Kostadinov told RFE/RL that he had also been accused of saying that Bulgaria did not have sufficient medical resources to meet the needs of hospitalized patients.
Kostadinov and his Revival Party have sought closer ties between Sofia and Moscow and have campaigned to distance Bulgaria from the European Union and NATO.
In Bulgaria's last elections in 2017, the Revival Party received just over 1 percent of the vote -- falling short of the tally needed to win seats in parliament.