USA with a crushing report on Bulgaria: Corruption and police arbitrariness

US State Department publishes its 2023 annual report on human rights practices by country

“This report covers internationally recognized individual, civil, political and labor rights,” the State Department explained.

In the report on Bulgaria, it is stated that:

“During the year, there were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Bulgaria.

Significant human rights concerns included credible reports of: torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by or on behalf of the government; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary, serious government corruption, crimes, violence or threats of violence motivated by anti-Semitism, and crimes involving violence or threats of violence directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, people of different sexual orientation or intersex people (LGBT+).

The government took measures to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights violations, but these actions were often insufficient and impunity was a problem.
Respect for the inviolability of the person
Arbitrary deprivation of life and other unlawful or politically motivated killings
There is one report that an agent of the government may have committed an arbitrary or illegal extrajudicial killing. The non-governmental organization (NGO) Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) accused the Ministry of the Interior of incompetence and “gross violation of the law” when, on September 18, a police officer fired his personal weapon and killed a man who was fleeing from the police along with two other people suspected of committing a series of street robberies. According to the chairman of the BHK, Krasimir Kanev, the police officer exceeded the law, which allows the use of weapons “only when it is absolutely necessary.”

The report also states:

Judiciary:

The constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, but corruption, inefficiency and lack of accountability are serious problems affecting the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. The independence of the judiciary has been compromised and public confidence in the judiciary has remained low as magistrates have been susceptible to political pressure.

On May 30, the non-governmental organization “Anti-Corruption Fund” published an interview with the ex-wife of Petyo Petrov-Euroto – Lyubena Pavlova, in which she claimed that her ex-husband influenced prosecutors through bribery and influence peddling, extortion and incentives for career development .

According to Pavlova, high-ranking government officials knew about Petrov’s activities and also participated.

On May 31, the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office announced that an arrest warrant had been issued for Petyo Evroto on charges of participation in extortion and illegal surveillance and wiretapping. Since November, he has been wanted by Interpol, Europol and the Schengen Information System.

Exceeded powers by the Ministry of the Interior

The report included examples of police arbitrariness and abuse of power in 2023.

A report by the “Bulgarian Helsinki Committee” (BHK) is cited, according to which one in four detainees (27%) suffered violence during their arrest, and 24% were subjected to violence in a police station. BHK claims that prison guards and police officers are rarely punished and notes a lack of convictions or sanctions for perpetrators.

In May, the police conducted an action against the distribution of drugs in a nightclub in Plovdiv, forcing nearly 400 customers inside to undress. In June, the Ministry of Internal Affairs sanctioned six police officers.

On October 10, there is such a people MP Toshko Yordanov accused the police of harassing and intimidating the protesting miners, calling them for questioning during the ongoing negotiations with the government.

On November 17, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov dismissed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Stoyan Temelakiev due to numerous media reports about excessive use of force and police violence during the November 16 protest against the BFS in Sofia. There was also violence against journalists.