Amendments to Bulgaria's Penal Code can threaten media freedom, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, warned.

The changes, adopted by the Bulgarian Parliament last week, introduced the possibility for prison sentences of one to four years for journalists convicted of instigating hatred, discrimination or violence based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, marital or social status, or disability.

"It is very important to find effective ways to address hate speech without endangering free expression, and to ensure that legitimate criticism can be expressed," Mijatovi? wrote in a letter to the Balkan country's Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov. "Imprisoning journalists for their reports is excessive and violates international standards on free expression."

Mijatovi? stressed that though governments have a legitimate need to fight discrimination and violence, criminalization of speech should be restricted to intentional incitements to violence. She also said she regretted that the amendments had been adopted without public debate or the involvement of relevant media organizations.

"The OSCE participating states, including Bulgaria, have affirmed that everyone has the right to hold opinions and receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority. If journalists fear imprisonment for their reports, it can lead to self-censorship and hinder media pluralism," Mijatovi? said.

She also noted that the law did not provide clear definitions of some terms, such as "discrimination", making it difficult to interpret and opening ways to differing interpretations of the law.