Bulgaria

Bulgaria regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Bulgaria implemented ODIHR's Training Against Hate Crime for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) programme from 2012 until 2017. Bulgaria also took part in ODIHR's project on "Building a Comprehensive Criminal Justice Response to Hate Crime", helping to develop a joint training programme for police and prosecutors that was piloted in the country. Bulgaria has also made efforts to improve hate crime identification, recording and data collection systems through ODIHR's Information Against Hate Crimes Toolkit (INFAHCT) programme. ODIHR completed a review of Bulgaria's hate crime legislation in 2018.   

Hate crime data collection in Bulgaria
Support for hate crime victims in Bulgaria
Hate crime capacity building in Bulgaria
Bulgaria's hate crime legislation
Download the 2013 hate crime report for Bulgaria

OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES

Year Hate crimes recorded by police Prosecuted Sentenced
2023 Not available 12 3
2022 Not available Not available Not available
2021 18 384 303
2020 727 353 289
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

Hate crime recorded by police

National developments

Throughout the year, the Police Academy continued to train police officers on hate crimes as part of ODIHR’s Training Against Hate Crimes for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) programme. In 2013, ODIHR evaluated the implementation of the TAHCLE programme in Bulgaria.

In November 2013, as part of the European Commission’s PROGRESS programme, police officers received training from the Commission for Protection against Discrimination on various issues relating to hate crime prevention and reporting.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR observes that Bulgaria has not reported hate crime data disaggregated by bias motivation to ODIHR.

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Anti-LGBTI hate crime

In its fifth report, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended that the Bulgarian authorities include sexual orientation and gender identity in all the articles of the Criminal Code addressing hate speech and hate crime, and collect data on hate speech and hate crimes against LGBT persons, including on the number of cases reported, investigated and prosecuted.