Amnesty International Report:
No Adequate Investigation of
Hate Crimes in Bulgaria


Sofia, February 9 (BTA) - An Amnesty International report
presented at BTA's National Press Club on Monday says that hate
crimes are not investigated adequately in Bulgaria.

Gauri van Gulik, Deputy Director for Europe at Amnesty
International, said the police should investigate why hate
crimes are committed because they target people who look
different. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) has alerted
Amnesty International to hate crimes which are allegedly
becoming increasingly frequent in this country. Van Gulik said
there were serious legal gaps.

The report also says that although Bulgarian legislation
provides for the prosecution of hate crimes involving racism and
xenophobia, more often than not the authorities fail to
recognize such crimes.

Marco Perolini, Amnesty International's expert on
discrimination, said Bulgaria should quickly take a clear
position and comply with the national and international human
rights laws.

In late 2013, the BHC reported to Amnesty International that the
number of assaults on refugees was increasing. The prosecuting
magistracy allegedly reported 80 pre-trial proceedings for
crimes against ethnic minorities.

Crime victims do not receive support after they have reported
the violence, said Perolini. Many of them do not report the
incidents to the police because they do not expect an adequate
reaction.

The Amnesty International report also says that hate crime
victims have no recourse to justice because investigators and
prosecutors refuse to take into account the discriminatory
motives and the crimes are usually investigated as hooliganism.
PK/DD


/СН/