Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Bulgaria.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Bulgaria. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of Torture by Authorities are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring the moral justification for inflicting pain or
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in order to obtain critical
information that may save countless lives, or to elicit a confession for a
criminal act, or to punish someone to teach him a lesson outside of the
courtroom. Perhaps your paper might
focus on some of the methods of torture, like fear, extreme temperatures,
starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, suffocation, or immersion in freezing
water. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the people acting in an official capacity who
perpetrate such cruelty. There is a
lot to the subject of Torture by Authorities.
Scan other countries as well as this one. Draw comparisons between activity in
adjacent countries and/or regions.
Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper
resources that are available on-line. ***
ARCHIVES *** Surveillance
Video Puts Bulgarian Police Brutality During Anti-Government Protests In
Focus RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
RFE/RL Bulgarian Service, 17 August 2021 www.rferl.org/a/bulgaria-police-violence-video/31415157.html?ltflags=mailer [accessed 17 August
2021] At first, the
officers show relative restraint, with one using his baton to force the
detainee to comply with their efforts to take him away. But once behind one
of the large columns propping up the Council of Ministers building, the blows
rain down, with multiple officers kicking, slapping, punching, and striking
their victim into submission. Relief comes only
when some of the officers break off to deliver multiple strikes to the head
and body of a new arrival dragged behind the columns by another group of
police. Within moments, another demonstrator is brought to the spot, and then
another -- a young woman in a headlock who is violently slammed down next to
the growing pile of detainees. Resistance is
futile, and even those whose hands are already cuffed behind their backs are
not spared more punishment, as becomes clear when one protester who tried to
roll away is tossed like a sack of potatoes on top of detainees lying facedown and defenseless on the pavement. Once that man
is forcibly put into place, another cuffed protester is thrown on top of him. Council of Europe
anti-torture Committee urges Bulgaria to stop physical ill-treatment of
psychiatric patients and social care residents and to immediately cease the
shameful practice of using chains as a means of restraint European Committee
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment CPT, 2 December 2020 [Long URL] [accessed 2 December
2020] In a report on
Bulgaria published today, the Council of Europe's anti-torture Committee
(CPT) notes with grave concern that the Bulgarian authorities have failed to
take effective action to improve the situation in psychiatric hospitals and
social care institutions in the light of the Committee's recommendations
following its previous visits. In the report, the
CPT concludes that patients in Bulgarian psychiatric hospitals continue to be
physically ill-treated by staff (slapped, pushed, punched, kicked, and hit
with sticks) despite the Committee’s recommendation, following its 2017
visit, that the Bulgarian authorities take steps to prevent the ill-treatment
of patients by staff and to remove any non-standard issue objects capable of
being used for inflicting ill-treatment from the premises of all psychiatric
hospitals. The Committee notes
that staff numbers in the psychiatric hospitals continue to be grossly insufficient to adequately provide anything close to the
necessary range of modern psychiatric treatments for patients nor to ensure
patients’ safety within the often highly austere wards. Council
of Europe anti-torture Committee
publishes report on Bulgaria Executive Summary,
11 July 2019 [accessed 1 June
2020] As regards material
conditions, some improvements were observed by the delegation at Busmantsi and Lyubimets
Homes since the
CPT’s previous visits,
also thanks to
the fact that
both establishments were operating
well below their
official capacities. However,
the accommodation continued to
be dilapidated and
the virtually bare
large-capacity dormitories offered
no privacy. Further, communal
toilets for men were still run down and dirty in Lyubimets.
In both Homes, the lack of access to a toilet at night for most of the
detainees obliged them to use bottles or buckets, or to comply with
their needs of
nature through the
windows. The accommodation areas
were inadequately heated (especially
in Busmantsi) and,
in both Homes,
detained foreign nationals complained of
not being provided
with clothing and
shoes adapted to
the season. Furthermore, as previously, many complaints were
heard about the food (especially its quality) and about the ban on detainees
cooking their own meals. The CPT recommended that urgent steps be taken to
remedy the above-mentioned deficiencies. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bulgaria U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/bulgaria/
[accessed 6 July
2021] TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT The constitution
and law prohibit such practices, but there were reports of government
officials employing violent and degrading treatment. According to the
NGO Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), police brutality in prison and
detention facilities occurred with impunity. The BHC cited prosecutorial
statistics obtained through a court order indicating that in 2019 the
prosecution tracked 78 open cases of police violence, closed 67 cases, and
carried out 13 investigations that resulted in no prosecutions, no
indictments, and no convictions. According to the BHC, physical abuse of
detainees by police was widespread and disproportionately affected Romani
suspects. Most cases were not included in statistics, since victims often did
not report it because most considered reporting abuse to be pointless. PRISON AND DETENTION
CENTER CONDITIONS Physical
Conditions: In February the ombudsman recommended the closing of two
low-security facilities, Keramichna Fabrika in Vratsa and Kremikovtsi
near Sofia, as well as the Central Sofia Prison due to “extremely bad
physical conditions, overcrowding, hygiene problems, and cockroach and bedbug
infestations.” The BHC and the ombudsman identified several additional
problems, including overcrowding, poor access to health care and its poor
quality wherever available, declining access to education, and unjustified
use of handcuffs in detention facilities and hospitals. The BHC reported
extremely poor conditions in the overcrowded detention center in Gabrovo,
“the last underground jail,” located below ground level, with poor access to
natural light, no ventilation, poor hygiene, no toilet or bathing facilities
in the cells, and limited open-air space. Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/bulgaria/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 11 May
2020] F3. IS THERE PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE
USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR AND INSURGENCIES? Police brutality,
including occasional torture of suspects in custody, continued in 2017.
Overcrowding and violence plague many of Bulgaria’s prisons. Organized crime
is still a major issue, and scores of suspected contract killings since the
1990s remain unsolved. Anti-torture
committee says conditions in social care institutions could be described as
inhuman and degrading; the situation in penitentiary establishments generally
improved Council of Europe
2018 News, 4 May 2018 [accessed 17 May
2019] More generally, the
Committee noted that there was a severe problem of a generalised
infestation with bed bugs, including in recently refurbished facilities. The
Bulgarian authorities informed the CPT that all mattresses, bed sheets,
pillows and blankets in penitentiary establishments would be replaced by the
end of August 2018. The Committee
further notes that corruption remains a serious issue in Bulgarian prisons.
As observed on previous CPT visits, prison staff appeared to be the major
source of contraband coming into prisons; further, the delegation again heard
allegations that some staff demanded payments for issues such as a positive
assessment of the inmate’s behaviour and providing
a work place. Turning to
psychiatric establishments, the CPT’s delegation received various allegations
at Radnevo Psychiatric Hospital according to which
patients were sometimes slapped and occasionally hit, kicked and punched by
orderlies. Furthermore, orderlies there were said to carry sticks (later
found by the delegation) to assert their authority and threaten the patients. Concern
expressed over Bulgaria torture statement Pan European
Networks in Congleton, UK, Europe, 31 March 2015 www.paneuropeannetworks.com/government/concern-expressed-over-bulgaria-torture-statement/ [accessed 9 April
2015] The chair of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe Sub-Committee on Human Rights, Meritxell
Mateu Pi, has said she is “deeply worried” about the public statement by the
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) on Bulgaria. She said: “The
persistent failure, over many years, by the Bulgarian authorities to address
the long-standing concerns of the CPT concerning, inter alia, ill treatment
of prisoners by police officers and prison guards, inter-prisoner violence,
prison overcrowding and poor material conditions of detention is unacceptable
in a state party to the Council of Europe’s Anti-Torture Convention.” 23rd General Report
of the CPT - European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment - 1 August 2012 - 31 July 2013 Council of Europe,
Strasbourg, 6 November 2013 www.west-info.eu/files/Council-of-Europe-23rd-General-Report-of-the-CPT-20131.pdf [accessed 7 Nov
2013] 39. At Burgas
Prison, the delegation heard many allegations of frequent physical
ill-treatment by staff and, in several cases, recent bruises and abrasions
consistent with allegations of ill-treatment were observed. In one case, CCTV
footage viewed by the delegation confirmed allegations of assault of an
inmate by a prison officer. In their response, the Bulgarian authorities
inform the CPT that, following investigations carried out into that case as
well as other serious matters identified by the delegation, two staff members
including the Prison Director had been dismissed. Further, an action plan had
been drawn up including the carrying out of a comprehensive review of the
overall functioning of Burgas Prison and an assessment of the weaknesses in
the management of the establishment as well as of the problems encountered by
the inmate population. Conclusions and
recommendations of the Committee against Torture U.N. Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment -- Doc. CAT/C/BGR/CO/4-5
(2011) www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cat/observations/bulgaria2011.html [accessed 24
February 2013] 18. The Committee
is concerned about the lack of legislation in the State party ensuring the
non-admissibility of evidence obtained as a result of torture (art. 15). The Committee
recommends that the State party enact legislation specifically prohibiting
the use of statements obtained under torture as evidence in conformity with
the Convention (art. 15) and that the competent authorities of the State
party compile statistics and submit to the Committee cases where evidence
obtained as a result of torture has been held inadmissible. 22. The Committee
is concerned at the reported continued existence of underground investigative
detention facilities in five locations where remand prisoners are held. It is
concerned that some cells do not have windows, some have less than 1 m2 of
living space per detainee while others do not have possibilities for outdoor
exercise. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned by conditions of detention
in many police stations where cells do not conform to international standards
of hygiene and are unsustainable for overnight use, and that in some cases
detained persons spend the first 24 hours in an area with bars referred to as
the “cage”, at times in full view of visitors to the police station. While
noting that handcuffing people to bars and pipes has been prohibited, the
Committee is concerned at reports that some detainees were handcuffed to
immovable objects such as radiators and piping or to a chair for up to six
hours (art. 11). The Committee
recommends that: (a) The State party
take urgent measures to ensure that the treatment of remand prisoners in
investigative detention centres and detainees in police stations conforms to
international standards. It urges the State party to build new investigative
detention centres or adapt and renovate existing facilities so that all
persons are detained above the ground and that they meet minimal
international standards. Police detention facilities should have a sufficient
number of cells suitable for overnight stay with adequate material conditions
such as clean mattresses and blankets and adequate lighting, ventilation and
heating; and (b) Handcuffing
persons to immovable objects should be forbidden by law and in practice. 24. The Committee
is concerned that detainees continue to be held in solitary confinement for disciplinary
violations for up to 14 days and for up to two months for the purpose of
prevention of escape, violation of life or death of other persons and other
crimes. The Committee is also concerned that current legislation imposes a
strict regime of segregation during the initial five-year period, ordered by
the sentencing for prisoners serving a life sentence, and that these
prisoners are routinely handcuffed when outside their cells. The Committee is
particularly concerned that some asylum-seekers are also placed in solitary
confinement for long periods (arts. 2, 11 and 16). The Committee
recommends that the State party consider the recommendations made by the
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment (A/66/268) in which he urges States to prohibit the imposition
of solitary confinement as punishment – either as a part of a judicially
imposed sentence or a disciplinary measure – and recommends that States
develop and implement alternative disciplinary sanctions to avoid the use of
solitary confinement (para. 84). The Committee recommends the reduction of
the periods of solitary confinement and the restrictions related thereto. The
practice of placing asylum-seekers in solitary confinement should be stopped
without delay. AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL From an old article -- URL not available Article was
published sometime prior to 2015 TORTURE AND OTHER
ILL-TREATMENT
- In November, the UN Committee against Torture expressed concerns over
excessive use of force and of firearms by law enforcement officers. It called
on Bulgaria to take measures to eradicate all forms of harassment and
ill-treatment by police during investigations. Search … AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL For current
articles:: Search Amnesty International
Website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=bulgaria+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 25 December
2018] Scroll Down ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Bulgaria:
Anti-torture committee says conditions in social care institutions could be
described as inhuman and degrading; the situation in penitentiary
establishments generally improved Council of Europe, 2018
News, 4 May 2018 [accessed 25 May
2018] The unit at Radovets Home accommodating the most disabled residents
contained only two large dormitories and no sanitary facilities. In one of
the two dormitories (known to the residents as the “pissy
room”) hygiene conditions did not befit a care institution and could be
described as inhuman and degrading. Residents were found lying on their beds,
completely covered in flies, with the floor flooded with urine and littered
with faeces. After the visit, the Bulgarian
authorities informed the CPT that two new sanitary facilities had been
constructed in the establishment, new bedding was ordered, and measures were
being taken to ensure compliance with sanitary standards. Despite recourse to
seclusion in social care homes being forbidden by Bulgarian law, the CPT’s
delegation found that three seriously mentally disabled residents of Kachulka Home, who were deemed especially dangerous, were
placed by staff alone in reinforced locked rooms for days on end. In Radovets Home, staff acknowledged that one resident,
deemed to be especially unpredictable, was sometimes placed in a makeshift
seclusion room under a set of outdoor stairs for hours on end. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61641.htm [accessed 21 January
2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61641.htm [accessed 3 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – The law
prohibits such practices; however, police commonly beat criminal suspects,
particularly minorities. Police often
mistreated criminal suspects in police custody, most often during the initial
interrogation. Human rights observers charged that police sometimes handled
minor offenses by arresting suspects, beating them, and releasing them within
a 24-hour period, so that no judicial involvement was required (see section
1.d.). The Romani nongovernmental organization (NGO) Romani Baht reported
receiving complaints of police brutality from Romani victims who were too
intimidated to lodge an official complaint with the authorities. On May 5, two
police officers in Pernik reportedly beat Rossen Stoyadinov, a Rom, who was not informed of his rights as
a detainee and was forced to confess to thefts (see section 1.d.). Stoyadinov later obtained a medical certificate for the
injuries from a local doctor and filed a complaint with the Ministry of
Interior. Human rights groups
claimed that medical examinations to investigate police abuses were not
properly documented, that allegations of police abuse were seldom
investigated thoroughly, and that offending officers were very rarely
punished. At year's end an
investigation by the Sofia military prosecutor's office was still ongoing in
the case of charges of police brutality stemming from a January 2004 incident
in which two Sofia police officers unleashed their dog on Assen
Zarev, a Rom, after questioning him about the
whereabouts of another person. The officers reportedly beat Zarev and threatened to shoot him. An internal inquiry
conducted by the MOI found no abuse of authority on the part of the police
officers. The appeal of two
police officers was ongoing at year's end following their May sentencing by the
Plovdiv military court for their role in the March 2004 beating of
22-year-old detainee Boris Daskalov. The court gave
two of the police officers involved 18-month suspended sentences, and fined
their direct supervisor. In April 2004 the MOI inspectorate confirmed that
the police officers had exceeded their powers, and seven police officers
received disciplinary sanctions for the incident. U.S.
Library of Congress - Country Study 1993 Library of Congress
Call Number DR55 .B724 1993 www.loc.gov/collections/country-studies/?q=DR55+.B724+ [accessed 19 July
2017] LAW AND ORDER -
PENAL SYSTEM –
By 1991 Bulgaria had already implemented one stage of prison reform to
improve its international human rights image: prisons were put under the
Ministry of Justice instead of the Ministry of Internal Security. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this
webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, " Torture by Police, Forced
Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st
Century- Bulgaria", http://gvnet.com/torture/Bulgaria.htm, [accessed <date>] |
