“Amnesty International” for Bulgaria: Pressure on media, violation of LGBTI rights, instilling hatred – From the day

Problems for Bulgaria continue to be the deterioration of freedom of expression, the violation of the rights of the LGBTI community and the inculcation of hatred against ethnic minorities. This is stated in the conclusions of the annual report of “Amnesty International”, reported BTA.

The human rights organization has released its 2023-2024 annual report on the state of human rights in 155 countries.

The organization warns that the world is facing a watershed moment for international law amid flagrant rule-breaking by governments and corporate giants. The increase in armed conflicts and the lack of will to actually apply international law are the most serious threat to human rights globally. At the same time, the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the inability to introduce adequate regulation are creating new conditions for discrimination, racism and division, the report notes.

In the report on Bulgaria, the organization draws attention to the deepening deterioration of freedom of expression in the country, noting the expansion of the practice of filing strategic “slap cases” against media and journalists as a form of harassment and stopping inconvenient investigations. The organization notes parliament’s efforts to provide better protection to journalists against such practices, but calls changes to the Penal Code “inadequate”. “Amnesty International” draws attention to the increasingly frequent cases of illegal pushing of refugees and migrants at the border with Turkey, the frequent cases of clear discrimination against Roma and attempts to instill hatred against ethnic minorities by political parties.

“The report notes Bulgaria’s continued inability to guarantee the rights of people with disabilities and highlights the alarming state of conditions for people housed in psychiatric institutions and social care homes. The rights of LGBTI people in the country continue to be unguaranteed after the Supreme Court of Cassation the court canceled the possibility of legal gender reassignment for trans people. There is still a lack of legal recognition of same-sex couples in the country, which constitutes a violation of the right to private and family life,” said a statement from “Amnesty International”.

Worked on the publication: Georgi Nikolov

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