Bulgaria | HCRW

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.

SELECT YEAR

Download the 2019 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 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.

Hate crime recorded by police

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.

KEY OBSERVATION

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

Kantor Center reported only statistical data. This explains the discrepancy between the graphic above and the incidents included below.

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

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

Anti-Roma hate crime

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

Anti-Muslim hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2019-07	Attacks against property	Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria	Show info
2019-12	Attacks against property	SETA	Show info
2019-07	Attacks against property	Office of Grand Mufti in Bulgaria SETA	Show info
2019-07	Attacks against property	SETA	Show info

Anti-LGBTI hate crime

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

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."