Human rights problems in Bulgaria included severe police abuses, limitations on press freedom, corruption in government and violence against women, children and minorities – and the vote-buying controversy in the 2007 municipal elections, according to the annual US state department report on human rights, released on March 11.

The report on Bulgaria in 2007 said that the country, with the exception of the problems noted, “generally respected” the human rights of its citizens.

It noted convictions (now under review) for the 2005 death in police custody of Angel Dimitrov, the confirmation of a 16-year jail term for a policeman who beat a homeless man to death in 2005, and the termination of an investigation for lack of evidence into a 2007 death in police custody.

According to the report “police often mistreated suspects in custody” and frequently beat criminal suspects, especially members of minority groups.

Prison conditions did not meet international standards. While the constitution and law forbade arbitrary arrest and detention, there had been reports that police sometimes ignored these prohibitions.

The effectiveness of the judiciary was hampered by corruption, inefficiency and a lack of accountability, the report said.

While the Government generally respected constitutional and legal provisions for the freedom of the media, “there were reports that individuals with political interests threatened and intimidated journalists”. The report noted the alleged beating by police in May 2007 of Express daily reporter Emil Ivanov, and said no progress had been made in investigating the April 2006 explosion at the flat of television reporter Vasil Ivanov, the May 2006 burglary of Novinar’s offices or the 2005 fire at the Vratsa office of Trud daily. The report highlighted that by the end of 2007 no charges had been laid against ultra-nationalist Ataka party leader Volen Siderov for leading a group of supporters in an intrusion into the offices of 24 Chassa daily.

The report said that while Bulgaria’s constitution provided for freedom of religion, the law and the Government restricted this right for some religious groups not recognised by the courts.

Ataka published anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim material in its newspaper, website and on its cable television mouthpiece Skat. The Chief Mufti’s office continued to report occasional mosque desecrations.

The report said that in contrast with the October 2006 presidential elections, which generally had been regarded as free and fair, the October 2007 municipal elections were “marred by reports of an unprecedented vote-buying surge”.

The Centre for the Study of Democracy had estimated that more than $149.3 million (200 million leva) had been spent on vote-buying. Another significant violation was “election day tourism”, the organised busing of voters from abroad. In addition to busing voters from Turkey, as had been seen in previous elections, the 2007 elections attracted “election tourists” from Macedonia.