EU-Report Accession Bulgaria

Civil and political rights

In June 2002, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Bulgaria in the case of Anguelova v. Bulgaria. The case related to the death of the applicant's son, aged 17, in January 1996 while in police custody following arrest for attempted theft. The Court held that there had been a violation of Article 2 (right to life), in respect of the death of the applicant's son, as the authorities had failed to provide timely medical care and had not met the obligation to conduct an effective investigation. The same case found violations of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment), Article 5 (right to liberty and security) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy).

In January 2002, the Government decided to make public the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture report on Bulgaria prepared after a visit in 1999.

As last year, there continues to be serious criticism as regards degrading treatment by the police. Concerns have been raised in particular about physical ill-treatment of people by the police at the time of arrest and during questioning. Members of the Roma community, including minors, are reported to be at particular risk of such treatment. The law on the use of firearms during arrest also needs to be aligned with international standards on use of force to ensure it does not allow police excessive freedom of action. Investigations into police abuse remain rare and from the small number of cases that do come to court there are few convictions. Further steps are still needed to set up a more effective system for dealing with police misconduct. Police still come under the military, rather than civilian, jurisdiction. Whilst some steps have been taken on training in human rights, these need to continue. Some steps are being taken to ensure better minority representation amongst police forces. As of May 2002, 158 Roma worked in police structures. With donor support, a police training centre has been created in the Roma Stolipinovo district of Plovdiv. 60 policemen of Roma and Bulgarian origin were trained in working in a multiethnic environment.

Trafficking in human beings remains a serious problem in Bulgaria, which is a country of origin, transit and to a lesser extent destination, for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. However, the Government is making significant efforts to tackle this. It has co-operated closely with international organisations and NGOs to prevent trafficking. Specialised units set up within the National Service to Combat Organised Crime and the border police to specifically address trafficking problems have conducted investigations and made arrests, but there appear to have been few convictions. The legal framework has been significantly reinforced with the Amendments to the Penal Code adopted in September 2002, which introduce more precise definitions and new penalties for trafficking of human beings. Reports also suggest that a disproportionately high share of trafficked women and girls from Bulgaria belong to the Roma community.

Conditions in prisons and in places of pre-trial detention, in particular police stations, continue to be inadequate, with conditions in pre-trial detention reportedly still much worse than in the prisons. Steps still need to be taken to bring all police stations into line with the basic requirements identified in the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture report. Improvements to some investigation detention facilities have been made but efforts need to be pursued. Some are still located underground and very few have outdoor exercise yards. Overcrowding remains a serious problem. Besides a lack of financial resources, inadequate management and organisation are also contributing factors. The Ministry of Justice has increased the daily budget for food in prisons by 20% but this still remains very low. As regards access to medical treatment for prisoners, an agreement has been signed with the National Health Insurance Fund to cover initial and regular medical check-ups. There are still reports of physical illtreatment of prisoners by staff in some prisons.

Amendments to the law on execution of penalties were adopted in June 2002. These amendments increase the range of detainees who can be held in open prison hostels and increase the possibilities for them to work. They also regulate for the first time the use of physical force and of other means of dealing with emergency situations and group protests. The amendments to the Penal Code adopted in September also introduce probation as an alternative punishment.

There has still not been any improvement in the legal framework for placing young people in correctional boarding schools and social educational boarding schools. As mentioned in previous reports, this needs to be revised to ensure cases have been heard in full conformity with the right to a fair trial before detention.

Whilst the legal framework for access to justice and legal aid is essentially adequate, there are significant problems in implementation and ensuring sufficient budgetary resources. Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the judiciary keeps official statistics, but surveys conducted indicate that in around 50% of cases at the pre-trial phase and around 30% of cases during the trial, defendants do not actually have legal representation. Funding for this comes out of the general budget for the judiciary, which remains very low. However, the Strategy for the Reform of the Judiciary (see section on the judicial system) foresees improvements in the medium term through establishment of a National Bureau for Legal Aid.

In 2001, there was an increase in the number of persons seeking asylum in Bulgaria. A new Asylum Law adopted in May 2002 considerably improves the legal framework. The National Agency for Refugees has a clear set of aims and objectives; however, its administrative capacity needs to be improved. Co-operation between the Agency, international organisations and NGOs has improved. However, co-ordination between the Agency and the border police is poor. It is important to ensure that there is adequate judicial control over decisions of the border police. If the new law is fully implemented, at all stages of the procedure, asylum applications will be dealt with by the Agency for Refugees, which will have representatives present at the border posts.

The Bulgarian Criminal Code penalises a number of acts inspired by racism and xenophobia, including incitement to hatred. However, the implementation of these provisions reportedly remains unsatisfactory and there continue to be reports of public expressions of racism and racist attacks against Roma.

Whilst the Bulgarian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and press freedom, libel remains an offence under criminal law. Fines remain very high for the economic conditions of the country and in comparison to fines for other crimes at BGN 3 000 ­7 000 (approx. 1 500 ­ 3 500). Whereas in principle this could be justified, these provisions must be applied in accordance with the principles of proportionality and the right of the public to information. There were criminal cases against journalists accused of libel in 2001, especially against investigative journalists.

As regards religious freedom, a new Act on Denominations has still not been adopted. The last report raised concerns that not all interested parties had been consulted; it is positive that the debate has recently been broadened and will be important to ensure that the Act adopted fully respects international human rights standards.

The 2001 Regular Report commented on discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in the Bulgarian Penal Code. Amendments to the Penal Code adopted in September 2002 eliminate these discriminatory provisions. They equalise the age of consent, the legal situation for homosexual and heterosexual prostitution, the penalties for rape and decriminalise provisions on homosexual actions in public.

NGOs continue to play an important role. The continuity and sustainability of their activities remain a major issue, as funding is scarce and mostly donor-driven. The National Assembly Committee on Civil Society Issues, which was established in July 2001, immediately set up a Public Council of 21 NGO representatives, nominated by NGOs through an open public procedure. The Council's main function is to mediate between NGOs and the Committee to ensure transparency, dialogue and participation. Its meetings are open to the public. NGOs have contributed to many draft acts (NGO tax environment, Ombudsman law, Penal Code changes to avoid discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation etc.). In April 2002, the National Assembly Committee on Civil Society Issues and the Public Council adopted a Charter for Interaction between NGOs and the public authorities, which is a notable achievement.

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