Policing and criminal justice system in Bulgaria
Recent stories
European Court to rule on police brutality case
On 18 July 2001 three young Romani men were arrested in Sofia by plainclothes police brandishing handguns, who accused them of stealing metal sheets.
21 April 2004 (167 words)
Police killing of Roma violated European human rights' convention
A judgement from the European Court of Human Rights on 1 March, which found Bulgaria guilty of deprivation of life of two Roma, is due to have wide repercussions.
27 February 2004 (288 words)
ECRI reports on Bulgarian racism
A special report has been issued by ECRI on racism within Bulgaria.
27 January 2004 (90 words)
Anti-Roma discrimination in criminal justice system alleged
The European Roma Rights Center and the Human Rights Project have sent letters to the Bulgarian National Assembly and to the Prime Minister to complain about the way in which Roma people are being discriminated against in the criminal justice system.
15 December 2003 (177 words)
Roma death caused by police, says European Court
Following a long struggle by the common-law wife of a Roma who died in police custody in Pleven in September 1994, the European Court of Human Rights has concluded that there is enough evidence to conclude that 49-year-old Slavcho Tsonchev died from injuries inflicted while in police custody.
1 January 2001 (189 words)
Evidence of institutional police racism
AI has called on the authorities to urgently address anti-Roma sentiments among law enforcement officers by implementing a national strategy to stop the systemic abuse of Roma by police officers.
1 January 2001 (259 words)
Roma seriously wounded by police in Burgas district
The Sofia-based Human Rights Project (HRP) reports that on 11 January 2000 a 26-year-old Romani Stefan Yordanov was shot and seriously injured by police in the Burgas district of eastern Bulgaria.
1 August 2000 (63 words)
ERRC cite police abuse of Roma
The ERRC newsletter cites two cases of police abuse of Roma.
1 March 2000 (81 words)
Roma villagers terrorised by indiscriminate mass raid
According to the Sofia-based Human Rights Project (HRP), over thirty Rom were beaten with truncheons when around 80 police officers raided the Romani neighbourhood in the village of Mechka.
1 March 1999 (90 words)
Roma are victims of killings, torture and ill-treatment
According to Amnesty International (AI), at least five people died in 1998 as a result of torture or ill-treatment by law-enforcement officers and shootings in disputed circumstances resulted in at least nine deaths.
1 March 1999 (263 words)
No redress for Roma victims of police violence
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) has produced a report on Roma in detention in Bulgaria which concludes that 'there has been a systematic failure to provide redress for official violence against Roma in Bulgaria and that this failure is structured into a system whereby the victims of police violence cannot participate meaningfully in the prosecution of a case and are prohibited from taking out private prosecutions'.
1 May 1998 (189 words)
Police officer settles argument with Roma by shooting him
Stefan Olimpiev, a 20-year-old Romani man, was shot and wounded by a police officer following an argument about who should use a public telephone first, as reported in NoshtenTrud.
1 February 1998 (46 words)
Sergeant found guilty of 'negligent murder' gets derisory sentence
A sergeant from the Ministry of the Interior has been found guilty of the negligent murder of Mehmed Hoxhov, a 41-year-old Romani man.
1 February 1998 (84 words)
Roma killed in police custody
A sergeant from the regional police department in the town of Assenovgrad shot and killed a 32-year-old Romani man.
1 February 1998 (51 words)
Violence against Roma in the Montana region
AI is concerned about the ill-treatment of Roma by police officers in the Montana region.
1 November 1997 (147 words)
Roma death toll mounts
The Human Rights Project reports that in the month of February alone, two Roma were shot and killed by the police and another Roma died after police officers beat him.
1 August 1997 (281 words)
Starvation, food riots and police violence
According to ERRC 'the latest news on Roma in Bulgaria is of starvation and food riots - and police abuse in their wake'.
1 August 1997 (223 words)
Police shoot Roma minor in Plovdiv
Simcho Milenkov, a Roma minor, was taken to hospital with life threatening injuries after police shot at him in the Roma neighbourhood of Plovdiv after he was seen running across the roof of houses and failed to obey an order to stop.
1 May 1997 (60 words)
Still no answers on five Roma deaths
Amnesty International has criticised the Bulgarian Ministry for Foreign Affairs for providing it with insufficient information to assess whether official investigations into alleged human rights violations have been prompt and impartial.
1 December 1996 (206 words)
Background information on criminal justice system
According to Krassimir Kanev of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, the apparatus of the Bulgarian law enforcement agencies is slipping from democratic and judicial control.
1 December 1996 (172 words)
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