5.  The applicant was born in 1946. 6.  The applicant lived in a house in Plovdiv situated in the same yard as the house of Ms N.K. The applicant’s family had bad relations with Ms N.K.’s family. 7.  On 27 July 1996 a quarrel erupted in the yard between Ms N.K., accompanied by friends of hers, and the applicant, accompanied by some relatives. The quarrel grew into a fight between the two groups. According to the applicant, one of Ms N.K.’s friends entered the applicant’s house to prevent her husband from calling the police. Allegedly, one of Ms N.K.’s friends had a gun and threatened to kill the applicant. 8.  On 27 July 1996 the applicants filed a complaint with the Plovdiv district public prosecutor’s office describing the events of the same day and requesting that Ms N.K. and her companions be prosecuted. In September 1996 the Plovdiv district public prosecutor’s office opened criminal proceedings. However, until August 1999 it did not take any investigative action. 9.  In August and September 1999 the prosecuting authorities questioned the applicant and several other witnesses. 10.  On an unspecified date Ms N.K. was charged with having threatened the applicant and having, together with other persons, forcibly entered into her house. 11.  On 9 August 1999 the applicant filed with the investigator in charge of the case a civil claim against Ms N.K., seeking 3,000 Bulgarian levs (BGN) in non-pecuniary damages. On the same day, by a decision of the investigator, the applicant was formally admitted as a civil party in the criminal proceedings. 12.  Between 1999 and 2004 the Plovdiv district public prosecutor’s office discontinued the criminal proceedings against Ms N.K. on two occasions, finding that she had committed no publicly prosecutable offences. However, on both occasions its decisions were quashed upon appeals by the applicant, either by the Plovdiv appellate public prosecutor’s office or by the Plovdiv District Court, which remitted the case for further investigation. During that period the prosecuting authorities questioned several more witnesses. 13.  On 3 June 2004 the Plovdiv district public prosecutor’s office discontinued the proceedings once again, on the ground that the time-limit for prosecuting the offences Ms N.K. had been charged with had expired. That decision was upheld by the Plovdiv District Court on 25 June 2004.