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 through ODIHR's Information Against Hate Crimes Toolkit (INFAHCT) programme. ODIHR completed a review of Bulgaria’s hate crime legislation in 2018.

SELECT YEAR

OFFICIAL DATA

Year	Hate crimes recorded by police	Prosecuted	Sentenced
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 2016 Data

The numbers recorded by the police refer to cases registered under substantive offence and specific penalty enhancement provisions in the Bulgarian Criminal Code. The statistic provided by the Office of the Prosecutor indicates the number of pre-trial proceedings brought to court under provisions, some of which fall outside the OSCE's definition of hate crime. The sentencing figure refers to cases registered by the Supreme Judicial Council in which the decisions have been issued in 2016. All official numbers include hate crime committed out of “hooligan motives,” which may fall outside of the OSCE's definition.

Download official data

National developments

Eighty-five investigating police officers from the Investigation Department at the Regional Office of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works participated in a training workshop on "Practical difficulties in the investigation of crimes with a discriminatory element."

The Ministry of the Interior prepared two curricula for both new recruits and experienced police officers on working in multicultural environments, the use of force, aids and weapons from police authorities, anti-discrimination and hate crimes. The programme prepared 41 officers as trainers to further cascade the courses. This was part of a programme funded by Norway.

KEY OBSERVATION

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

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY OTHER SOURCES

Anti-Muslim hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2016-06	Attacks against property	Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria SETA	Show info
2016-12	Attacks against property	Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria	Show info
2016-08	Attacks against property	Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria SETA	Show info
2016-11	Attacks against property	Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria SETA	Show info
2016-11	Attacks against property	Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria SETA	Show info
2016-10	Attacks against property	Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria SETA	Show info
2016-09	Attacks against property	Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria SETA	Show info

Anti-Christian hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2016-07	Violent attacks against people	Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Jehovah's Witnesses	Show info

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

In its "Concluding observations on the combined twentieth to twenty-second periodic reports of Bulgaria," the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended the appointment of specialized hate crime prosecutors.