site.btaAuthorities Investigating 7,200 Cases of Violence – Report

Interior Ministry officers and prosecutors are working on more than 7,200 cases of suspected violence, the Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office (SCPO) says in a report published on Thursday. Most of the pretrial proceedings are for offenses committed in public places from hooligan motives and cases of domestic violence.

A total of 4,473 investigations concern bodily harm, 1,040 probes are for violations of public order, and 611 procedures concern robbery, the report says.

The data were provided by Bulgaria's five appellate prosecution offices and the Military Appellate Prosecution Office. The information was collated towards the close of 2024 after observers reported a surge in domestic violence and violence committed in public places.

The main impediments to investigating domestic violence have to do with victims changing their testimonies, refusing to lodge complaints or refusing to testify. In such cases, the supervising prosecutors and the investigators try to find other sources of evidence to conduct unbiased, comprehensive investigations.

Overworked expert witnesses have difficulty writing their reports, the SCPO goes on to say. Yet another problem is the assignment of physicians specializing in particular fields to help compile comprehensive forensic reports. In the Prosecutor General's annual reports to the National Assembly and in letters to the Ministry of Justice, the prosecuting magistracy has repeatedly noted the need to address the shortage and excessive workload of expert witnesses.

The SCPO report was compiled at the request of acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov after a December 2024 national meeting of the prosecution service called for zero tolerance for violence.