E/CN.4/1995/91 page 31 and once they have been shown to be legally sound, are published in the Official Bulletin. These decisions do not contain value judgements on the doctrines of the religious communities from a theological point of view, but take account only of the requirements of the law. No one can be prosecuted for his religious beliefs in Bulgaria, but the State is legally empowered to determine whether, through registration, a religious community may acquire the privileged status of a denomination as provided for by the law. If a religious community is not registered, the individual rights of its members, particularly with regard to the choice of religion, are not thereby infringed. The Government is persuaded that the freedom to choose a religion cannot be made subject to any legal sanction. It is a fundamental right of the individual, bound up with his own personal spiritual inclinations. The Bulgarian Government has no information concerning specific allegations about acts of repression directed against members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. It should be explained that the prohibition of blood transfusions contained in their doctrine constitutes a direct threat to the health of Bulgarian citizens, while the refusal to take an oath to the Bulgarian flag infringes the Universal Military Service Act and thus affects State security. The decree quoted, issued by the municipal council of the city of Plovdiv in March 1994 and imposing illegal restrictions on the activities of religious communities, was repealed by an order of the prefect of Plovdiv, following a proposal by the Department of Worship to the Council of Ministers. The conflict between the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (a legally registered denomination) and the inhabitants of the district of Philipovtzi, Sofia, was resolved when the Department of Worship stepped in. In order to prevent any Department of Worship has put new order on the registration establishing the registration recurrence of this type of problem, the forward a proposal for the drafting of a of the local chapters of denominations, procedure and guaranteeing their rights. It is, however, a fact that some of the mass media put out negative value judgements, which are not always very balanced, with regard to certain religious communities practising in Bulgaria. In the context of freedom of opinion and expression and of the freedom of the press, and bearing in mind that the Constitution prohibits censorship, the Bulgarian Government is seeking to persuade the mass media of the need to show greater tolerance and competence in their approach to problems relating to religious denominations. All the Protestant denominations in Bulgaria, of which there are 21, are registered as such in accordance with the law. The Government’s efforts here are aimed at ensuring their freedom of action so that they cannot be described as ’sects’ infringing the rights of their followers.