The United States state department released its 2008 human rights report on February 25 2009, saying that Bulgaria "generally respected" the human rights of its citizens but that there were problems in several areas.

These problems included police abuse, including beatings and other mistreatment of pretrial detainees, prison inmates, and members of minorities; harsh conditions in prisons and detention facilities; arbitrary arrest and detention; and impunity.

There were increasing limitations on freedom of the press; discrimination against nontraditional religious minorities; and widespread corruption in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

Other problems included violence against women and children, substandard education for Romani children; harsh conditions in state-run institutions for children; trafficking in persons; discrimination against persons with disabilities; and discrimination against minority groups, the report said.

It noted that on October 2 2008, following two appeals against earlier decisions, the Sofia military court sentenced former Blagoevgrad head of police Miroslav Pissov to 18 years' imprisonment and former officers Ivo Ivanov, Boris Mehandzhijski, Georgi Kalinkov, and Yanko Grahovski each to 16 years for beating to death Angel Dimitrov while arresting him in 2005.

During 2008 there was an increase in ransom kidnappings involving wealthy businessmen and their families. Observers criticised the government's inability to prevent or solve these cases. On May 22, in one notorious case involving a soccer club manager, the manager's wife was also kidnapped when she went to pay the ransom while under police surveillance. The victims were subsequently released but the perpetrators were not identified.

Prison conditions generally did not meet international standards, and the Government did not allocate funds to make significant improvements.

During the year the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued decisions finding that the government had violated the rights of prisoners due to substandard prison conditions. In response to previous rulings, the government took some measures to improve detention center conditions since 2005. On February 7, the ECHR ruled against the government in a 1999 case in which Stefan Kostadinov was held for five months in a basement cell for 24 hours a day. Kostadinov had no exposure to natural light and was unable to undertake physical activity. On July 31, the ECHR again ruled against the government in a 1998 case in which Sofia police held Vasil Petrov in a jail cell overnight, with his hands handcuffed to a pipe above his head. During his detention, police hit Petrov with a truncheon and kicked him.

The report said that the National Intelligence Service and the National Protective Service, which are directly subordinate to the president, continued to operate in the absence of specific legislation that provided judicial, executive and legislative oversight. Other law enforcement and national security bodies launched reforms during 2008.

In December 2007, Parliament formed the new State Agency for National Security by combining a number of security services previously overseen by individual ministries. The agency’s' primary mandate was counterterrorism and counterintelligence, and it was also responsible for fighting serious organised crime and high-level corruption. During the year media and NGOs criticised the agency for the apparent politicisation of high-profile disputes in the agency that led to the dismissal and resignation of several senior civil servants.

In April 2008, Interior Minister Roumen Petkov resigned under political pressure after the leak of reports of his late 2006 meeting with organised crime figures, allegedly to broker a peace deal between warring gangs on the eve of the country's January 2007 accession to the European Union (EU). Petkov's resignation prompted the Government to overhaul the ministry, which is responsible for internal law enforcement. Ongoing structural changes, successive scandals, and low salaries significantly challenged the ministry's officers' morale, leading police officers to engage in symbolic protests to show their dissatisfaction.

Although the law provides for access to legal counsel from the time of detention, lack of timely access to legal counsel remained a problem, the report said. Poor knowledge of the law often resulted in police failure to inform detainees of this right.

Long delays awaiting trial were common, and investigators and police continued to struggle with a large backlog of outstanding investigations. Tough statutorily mandated time limits to complete investigations often resulted in hasty indictments that were returned by judges for additional investigation.

"The constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary; however, political influence, widespread corruption, inefficiency and lack of accountability were problems."

The Jewish community reported continued difficulties recovering properties in cases where such properties were being used by government entities. For example, despite court decisions in its favor, the Jewish community was unable to take possession of a state-run hospital in central Sofia.

In September and October 2008, there were media reports that, during an official investigation, the State Agency for National Security may have obtained telephone records and possibly voice recordings of calls by members of parliament and journalists. On October 10, the agency officially admitted that it violated its own internal regulations by monitoring journalists, including possibly obtaining telephone data and voice recordings, while investigating leaks of classified information to the media. According to the head of the agency, the surveillance of journalists was unjustified and was unrelated to the true purpose of the investigation. He denied personal responsibility for the transgressions, and stated that the investigation was improperly authorised by subordinates during the chairman's short absence in August. Parliamentarians and the media spoke out forcefully against the apparent abuse of power.

NGOs reported that in poor, rural areas of the country, local authorities denied government services including employment and scholarships to individuals who lacked proof of membership in local ruling political parties.

The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and press, and the Government generally respected these rights in practice; however, there were increased reports that individuals with political interests threatened and intimidated journalists.

NGOs reported that significant numbers of journalists practiced self-censorship due to pressure by political and business leaders and organized crime on the journalists or their management. Some journalists allegedly accepted payments in return for positive coverage of politicians, prominent businessmen, and organised crime syndicates. International organisations criticized increased political influence over media, pressure from powerful economic interest and attacks against journalists.

In May 2007 one journalist from the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) received a dismissal warning for reportedly asking an inappropriate question to the interior minister. Later in 2007 the new BNR director removed several managers from their positions without explanation.

On April 7 2008, two unidentified men shot Georgi Stoev, tabloid commentator and author of reality-based fiction about the criminal underworld. An investigation into his murder was ongoing at year's end.

On September 5, police arrested Frognews Web site administrator Yorgo Petsas, and State Agency for National Security officials questioned him for seven hours on suspicion that Frognews was affiliated with the Web site opasnite.net. The latter site, which published critical speculation about the Government, was closed on September 4, reportedly for publishing classified information. On September 23, four men severely beat and critically injured Frognews editor in chief Ognian Stefanov. High-level government officials and international organisations criticized the attack and called for a full investigation. Following the incident, Frognews editors complained of multiple death threats.

On September 7, the Defense Ministry halted printing of the first issue of the weekly newspaper Bulgarian Army, reportedly for technical reasons. The chief editor of the newspaper refuted the ministry's justification and charged that the minister, who was the head of the newspaper's publishing company, objected to some of the newspaper's content.

There were no developments in the investigation of the 2006 explosion in the apartment of Vasil Ivanov, who had described wide-ranging abuses in Sofia's main prison, or the 2006 break-in at the offices of the newspaper Novinar.

Some local governments restricted certain forms of proselytizing. On October 8, police issued a warning to a member of Jehovah's Witnesses who was distributing religious literature in Plovdiv. Police referred to a provision of the municipal public order rules which required a municipal permit for carrying out religious activity in public.

Jehovah's Witnesses reported continuing opposition from local authorities in Varna to construction of a place of worship, despite receiving a construction permit in June 2007. Construction was halted pending the outcome of a court challenge by neighbors to the municipality's 2001 rezoning of the Jehovah's Witnesses property. In July 2007 the Sofia City Council published its unanimous decision to support the residents of the Mladost area in opposing the construction of a meeting hall for the Jehovah's Witnesses and urging the government to legislate stricter control of nontraditional religious groups.

In February the Commission for Protection against Discrimination rejected a discrimination complaint filed by three Muslim students from Devin alleging that their school principal had discouraged them from wearing headscarves in classes even though the school had no uniform requirements. The commission found insufficient evidence to confirm the principal's reported warnings. The case followed an August 2006 decision by the commission to uphold the ban on headscarves imposed by a school in Smolyan that did require school uniforms.

There were occasional manifestations of public intolerance of nontraditional religious groups and religious minorities, the state department report said.

During the year the extremist political party, Ataka, continued to denigrate the country's Roma, Jews, and Muslims. Ataka, which employed racist and discriminatory rhetoric during the 2005 and 2006 electoral campaigns, published anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim material in its newspaper, web site, and cable television mouthpiece, Skat.

In contrast with the 2006 presidential elections, which were widely regarded as free and fair, the municipal elections held in October 2007 were marred by reports of an unprecedented vote-buying surge. The Center for the Study of Democracy estimated that the money spent buying votes exceeded 200 million leva (approximately $144 million). Prosecutors initiated more than 10 investigations under the newly amended criminal code, which criminalizes both vote buying and vote selling. Another significant type of violation was the organized busing of voters from Turkey and Macedonia, usually referred to as "election day tourism." Observers noted that the surge in vote buying was prompted by efforts of business circles and organized crime figures to install local politicians as a way to gain greater access to EU funds.

The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by government officials; however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.

"The Government did not aggressively prosecute high-profile organised crime or corruption," the report said.

NGOs reported that domestic violence was a serious problem. Although there were no precise statistics on its occurrence, police believed that one of every four women had been a victim.

The law defines domestic violence as any act, or attempt at, physical, psychological, or sexual violence against members of one's family or between cohabitating persons. It empowers the court to deal with offenders by imposing fines, issuing restraining or eviction orders, or requiring special counseling. The courts issued more than 300 restraining orders in 2007.

Although in 2006 the cabinet voted to make270,000 leva (approximately $194,000) available to municipalities for establishing shelters for domestic violence victims, none had been built, and the government did not provide shelter or counseling for women.The NGO Animus Associations Foundation operated a 24-hour hot line for women in crisis and a number of other NGOs provided short-term protection and counseling to victims in 15 crisis centers around the country. Police and social workers referred victims of domestic violence to NGO-run shelters.

The law provides women with the same rights as men; however, women faced some discrimination in hiring and pay. In 2007 the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy reported that women's salaries were 24 per cent lower than men's, with some lower-paid sectors, such as education and services, dominated by women. A National Council on Equality between Women and Men, headed by the minister of labor and social policy under the Council of Ministers, was tasked to safeguard the rights of women. Primarily a consultative body, the council is charged with promoting cooperation and coordination among NGOs and government agencies.


The Government generally was committed to protecting children's welfare, the state department report said; however, "Government efforts in education and health were constrained by inadequate budgets and outmoded social care structures. Problems in state-run institutions for children, including incidents involving exploitation of children, received increased media attention during the year".

Violence against children was a problem. According to the National Statistical Institute 2743 children were victims of crimes in 2007, compared to 3209 children in 2006. Crimes included murder, rape, theft, kidnapping, trafficking, pornography and other forms of abuse. The government often removed children from abusive homes and prosecuted abusive parents; however, once away from their families, children often fell victim to street violence or violence in specialised institutions.

During the year several incidents received media attention including airing of the controversial film Baklava, reportedly showing orphans engaged in sexual acts and drug abuse. In January police opened an investigation of a man in Dupnitsa for possessing nude photos of orphans. In March media and NGOs reported on the accidental poisoning of five children in state care in Plovdiv. In March, an accused pedophile shot and killed a 15-year-old girl at an orphanage in Tran and injured two others before killing himself. Following these incidents the National Social Assistance decided to close the institution, and all but four children had been relocated to other facilities by the end of the year.

The problems facing institutionalised children has received significant international attention since the BBC documentary, Bulgaria's Abandon Children was first broadcast in November 2007. The documentary showed the substandard conditions for children with disabilities in a state institution in Mogilino. Following the intense international and local outcry, authorities began taking steps to close the facility in Mogilino and relocate some of the children to a newly built facility. In 2006 a 15?year?old girl died of complications from eating garbage after being left unattended.

The country remained a point of origin and transit and, to a lesser extent, a destination, for trafficking, with most victims trafficked for sexual exploitation. Victims came from within the country, and from Romania, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia. The principal destinations of victims trafficked from and through the country were Greece, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Poland, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Western Europe. Almost all victims were women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation, but some were also young boys. Young women between the ages of 16 and 24 with modest education and weak family ties were most vulnerable. Minorities, particularly Roma, and women engaged in prostitution were also at particular risk.

During the year a court convicted Angel Lubenov and sentenced him to 13 years in prison for running a prostitution ring involving children from the Berkovitsa orphanage in 2006. Following Lubenov's arrest, authorities moved his three victims to other institutions to receive psychological assistance. None of the staffers at the orphanage was dismissed or disciplined.

The trafficking of pregnant women and forcing them to sell their children abroad remained a problem because the women were free to travel and could not be stopped by border police.In December police reported seven investigations of baby selling in Greece.

In larger cities, organised criminal organisations controlled most trafficking for sexual exploitation. In smaller towns, small crime groups and freelance operators were involved.

Workplace discrimination against minorities, especially Roma, continued to be a problem. The unemployment rate among Roma was nearly 65 per cent, reaching 80 per cent in some regions. In a 2006 case, the Sofia city court found a company liable when one of its employees advised Angel Assenov not to apply for a position, since he was a Rom and would not be hired.

In August 2007, about 200 Roma rioted in the Sofia district of Krasna Poliana after rumors circulated that they were about to be attacked by a group of skinheads. Witnesses claimed the riot was retaliation for a clash the previous evening, when a group of young men described as skinheads allegedly attacked three Romani teenagers, one of whom was severely beaten. Four ethnic Bulgarians were charged with hooliganism after the incident; police arrested three and released one on bail. Police also detained four Roma charged them with hooliganism.

In August 2007 a group of four teenagers beat to death Asparuh Atanasov, a 17-year-old Rom, reportedly because they were angry that he was in the centre of the town. Police detained four suspects and the prosecution against them was ongoing at year's end, the report said.

The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but the government did not effectively enforce this prohibition. Reports of violence against sexual minorities were rare, but societal discrimination, particularly discrimination in employment, although less common than in previous years, remained a problem. The gay-rights organization Gemini reported thatindividuals continued to be reluctant to pursue legal remedies for discrimination due to the stigma of being openly identified as gay.

On June 28 2008, police arrested about 60 nationalist protestors attempting to disrupt the country's first gay pride parade. Approximately 100 participants marched under tight security protection, and at least one protester threw a Molotov cocktail. The head of the Christian Orthodox Church and the Muslim chief mufti condemned the march, calling it immoral and referring to homosexuality as a disease.