The Commission on the Protection against Discrimination was tasked by the government with reviewing its laws for compliance with the EU Framework Decision. The Commission stated that improvements should be made to current legislation to ensure that racist or xenophobic motivations are considered as possible aggravating circumstances for all crimes, as they currently have limited application in the Bulgarian Criminal Code.
The Office of the Grand Mufti and the Director of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, invited ODIHR to Sofia for an assessment visit to explore potential training activities with government officials and civil society. The Interior Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with ODIHR for joint implementation of ODIHR's police training programme on hate crime, TAHCLE, in the Bulgarian police academy in 2011.
The Office of the Grand Mufti reported graffiti displaying anti-Turkish sentiments on a mosque and a school.
The Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria reported two cases of the desecration of cemeteries and five cases of graffiti, three of which targeted a Holocaust memorial statue.
The Stephen Roth Institute reported one hate incident.
The Socialist Party’s Youth Association Campaign organized a series of “Clean Start in History” days, on which young people removed swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans from monuments and historical sites.
Human Rights First reported one arson attack on a mosque.
The Office of the Grand Mufti reported one arson attack, three cases of damage to property and three cases of graffiti targeting mosques and Muslim cemeteries.
IOM reported incidents between the Roma community and “skinheads” but did not provide any examples or data figures.