Bulgaria

Bulgaria regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Bulgaria's hate crime laws are a combination of specific penalty enhancements and substantive offences. The data reported to ODIHR do not present separately cases of hate crime, incitement to hatred and discrimination. The authorities responsible for collecting hate crime data are the Interior Ministry's Co-ordination, Information and Analysis Directorate; the Supreme Judicial Council's Commission on Professional qualification, IT and statistics; the Supreme Court of Cassation's Criminal College; the Supreme Prosecutor of Cassation's Analysis Unit; and the National Statistical Institute.

How hate crime data is collected in Bulgaria

How hate crime data is collected in Bulgaria

There is no specific system in place for recording hate crimes, which are registered as any other criminal offence. The methodological guidelines issued by the Ministry of Interior govern the process of crime registration, data collection and the compilation of police statistics.

The recording officer can describe any motive for the crime in a specific field of the crime report. The same field is also used to provide preliminary legal qualification by referring to the relevant provisions of the criminal code, including subsections. This is relevant because some offences in the criminal code include aggravation by bias in the subsections of the main provision.

Entered data are stored in a set of electronic registries: the Integrated Regional Police System (IRS); the Automated Information System (AIS) Central Police Register; the AIS Central Police Statistics and the automated systems for filing activities. These systems are organized according to the relevant articles of the criminal code.

The official website of the Ministry of Interior publishes statistical information about registered crimes.

Access more information at the Legislation Online website Legislationline TANDIS Access more information at the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System (TANDIS) website

OFFICIAL DATA

Year Hate crimes recorded by police Prosecuted Sentenced
2019 22 432 155
2018 46 6 158
2017 22 9 9
2016 28 299 71
2015 704 752 135
2014 617 750 117
2013 651 300 239
2012 Not available Not available Not available
2011 29 41 10
2010 20 34 4
2009 20 22 9

About 2019 Data

    The numbers recorded by the police refer to cases registered under substantive offences, many of which are hate speech provisions, and specific penalty enhancements in the Bulgarian Criminal Code. As such, all official numbers include hate crimes committed out of "hooligan motives", which falls outside of the OSCE's hate crime definition. The number of sentencing judgments refers to hate crimes proper.

National developments

In 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with ODIHR and FRA, organized a workshop for police and other criminal justice agencies involved in recording hate crimes. The workshop produced a set of recommendations on improving hate crime registration, which were provided to the Ministry to be conveyed to the Bulgarian authorities for implementation.

A training on the "Investigation of hate crimes on homophobic and transphobic motives", organized by the LGBT youth organization Action, was held as part of a project funded by the American Bar Asssociation. The aim of the project was to increase sensitivity to the problems of the LGBTI community in Bulgaria and to improve the investigation of crimes committed against LGBTI people. Forty-seven officers (including investigative police officers, security police officers and criminal police operatives) from various District Police Directorates in the country were trained.

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY OTHER SOURCES

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2019-10 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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2019-07 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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2019-05 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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2019-04 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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2019-09 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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2019-09 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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2019-06 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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2019-04 Violent attacks against people
OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights
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2019-06 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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2019 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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2019-06 Violent attacks against people
UNHCR
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Anti-Roma hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2019 Threats
AZAD LGBT Organization
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2019-01 Threats
OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights
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2019-01 Threats
Bulgarian Hate Crime Recording Coalition
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2019 Attacks against property
Bulgarian Hate Crime Recording Coalition
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2019-04 Threats
OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights
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2019-04 Attacks against property
OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights
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2019-04 Violent attacks against people
OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights
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2019-01 Attacks against property
European Roma Rights Center (ERRC)
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Anti-Muslim hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2019-07 Attacks against property
Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria
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2019-12 Attacks against property
SETA
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2019-07 Attacks against property
Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria
SETA
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2019-07 Attacks against property
SETA
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Anti-LGBTI hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2019 Attacks against property
Bulgarian Hate Crime Recording Coalition
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2019 Violent attacks against people
Bulgarian Hate Crime Recording Coalition
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2019 Violent attacks against people
Bulgarian Hate Crime Recording Coalition
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2019-03 Attacks against property
OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights
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2019-03 Violent attacks against people
OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights
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INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Racist and xenophobic hate crime, Anti-Roma hate crime, Anti-LGBTI hate crime

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe published relevant recommendations in her "Report following a visit to Bulgaria.

Racist and xenophobic hate crime, Other hate crime based on religion or belief

The United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) published relevant recommendations in its "Report from the Thirty-sixth session: Compilation on Bulgaria."

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR observes that the law enforcement agencies of Bulgaria have not recorded the bias motivations of hate crimes.