site.btaAmnesty International Lists Refugees', Migrants' Rights, Counter-terrorism Law and Discrimination as Problems in Bulgaria

Amnesty International Lists Refugees', Migrants' Rights, Counter-terrorism Law and Discrimination
as Problems in Bulgaria

Paris, February 22 (BTA) - Amnesty International presented its Annual Report here on Wednesday. The part about Bulgaria focuses on the rights of migrants and refugees, discrimination the counter-terrorism legislation.

According to the report, the Bulgarian Parliament quickly passed a new counter-terrorism bill last July that defined a "terrorist act" vaguely and in excessively broad terms. The bill gives the President powers to declare - with approval of the National Assembly - a "state of emergency" in the aftermath of an act of terrorism on Bulgarian soil. In such a state of emergency, the authorities could impose blanket bans on public rallies, meetings and demonstrations without any effective and independent oversight. The bill additionally provided a list of administrative control measures, including travel bans and controls of individuals' freedom of movement and association, that could be applied to anyone suspected of "preparing or planning a terrorist act".

The part about the rights of migrants and refugees reads that in response to Serbia and Hungary increasing their border control measures, the Bulgarian authorities have adopted an approach aimed at limiting the number of migrants and refugees entering the country as an alternative route into the EU. Human rights organizations documented frequent allegations of pushbacks, physical abuse and theft by border police. While not openly condoning pushbacks, Prime Minister Borissov conceded that the government had adopted what he termed a "pragmatic approach" to the refugee crisis. He said that over 25,000 people were returned to Turkey and Greece in the period up to August.

The document recalls that in July, the Bourgas (on the Black Sea) District Prosecutor's Office closed criminal proceedings in connection to the October 2015 death of an unarmed Afghan man who was shot by border police.

The practice of the unlawful detention of unaccompanied children persisted, the report says. To circumvent the prohibition of detention of unaccompanied minors, migration authorities arbitrarily assigned unaccompanied children to adults who were not related to them. Due to the lack of specially designated facilities for children, many unaccompanied children were held with adults and without adequate professional supervision, making them vulnerable to sexual abuse, drug use and trafficking.

The report's section on discrimination recalls that social exclusion and widespread discrimination against the Roma continue. Human rights organizations highlight concerns over high levels of xenophobia and intolerance directed at groups including refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, who remained particularly vulnerable to violence and harassment.

In September, the National Assembly approved a national law that prohibited wearing full-face veils in public places, the report reads. The law was a part of the package of bills proposed by the Patriotic Front, a member of the ruling coalition, allegedly aimed at preventing what was characterized as radicalization. Only a few women in Bulgaria wear full-face veils or burkas, but the national ban could impact unfairly on women belonging to the ethnic Turkish and Muslim Roma minorities.