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 2014 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

About 2014 Data

    Prosecution figure includes crimes committed with "hooligan" motive in addition to bias motivation.

Hate crime recorded by police

National developments

In 2014, the National Institute of Justice began discussions with ODIHR which will lead to implementation of the PAHCT programme in Bulgaria. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2015.

ODIHR and the Bulgarian Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPD) began discussing possible improvements to hate crime recording in Bulgaria, with a view to organizing a series of workshops on the issue in 2015.

KEY OBSERVATION

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

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bulgaria implemented a television, print and online media campaign against xenophobic attitudes.

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. It also recommended the collection of data on hate speech and hate crime against LGBT people, including on the number of cases reported, investigated and prosecuted.