The US report on Bulgaria points to problems with corruption, the judiciary and police arbitrariness – Bulgaria

Corruption, police arbitrariness, problems with the independence of the judicial system, the role of Petyo Euroto in it, pressure on the journalists Atanas Chobanov and Dimitar Stoyanov – these are some of the findings of the report on Bulgaria by the US State Department on human rights for 2023.

Corruption, inefficiency and lack of accountability are serious problems affecting the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, the report notes. The independence of the judiciary has been compromised and public confidence in the judiciary remains low as magistrates have been susceptible to political pressure. As an example, the role of the former investigator Petyo Evroto is mentioned in it. The ex-wife of Petyo Petrov-Euroto – Lyubena Pavlova claimed in an interview that Petrov influenced prosecutors through bribery and influence peddling, extortion and incentives for career development. This is cited as an example in the State Department report. According to Pavlova, high-ranking government officials knew about Petrov’s activities and also participated

In his section on police violence, the report points out that approximately one in four detainees, or 27%, experienced violence in custody. The data are taken from a report of the “Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. Examples include the police action in a nightclub in Plovdiv in May last year, when patrons were forced to undress, excessive use of force against protesters on November 16 last year, and the dismissal of the deputy director of the capital’s police because of this. as well as data of MP Toshko Yordanov for questioning protesting miners.

Regarding corruption cited a study by the Basel Institute of Management published in May. According to him, the judicial system, the public health system and the police are the most affected by corruption. The creation of a mechanism for accountability of the chief prosecutor and his deputies was considered a positive change.

In its July report, the European Commission said the new legislation was a positive step, but noted a “continuing problem” of low investigative effectiveness and weak prosecution and final convictions in high-level corruption cases, the State Department document said. According to him, the EC claims that there are serious legal gaps regarding the integrity of people appointed to senior executive positions.

Data in the State Department report cites Reporters Without Borders’ 2023 World Press Freedom Index. According to him, intimidation by politicians, as well as administrative and judicial pressure against publishers and journalists, are defined as common practice in Bulgaria.

In April, the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) announced six civil cases, each for BGN 10,000 ($5,400), against investigative journalists Dimitar Stoyanov, Atanas Chobanov and Nikolay Marchenko in connection with their articles alleging corruption practices in the construction of road infrastructure, the State Department report indicates.