US State Dept Report: Bulgaria Corruption Still 'Pervasive' despite Progress

Bulgaria still faces “pervasive corruption” even though its new government has started to tackle it, says the 2009 Human Rights Report of the US State Department.

The document, which was released late on Thursday, points to a number of issues that Bulgaria is yet to make progress on as far as human rights are concerned.

The US State Department Report summarizes Bulgaria’s problems as follows:

“There were problems with police abuse and mistreatment of pretrial detainees, prison inmates, and minorities; harsh conditions in prisons and detention facilities; and official impunity.

There were some limitations on freedom of the press; discrimination against religious minorities; and pervasive government corruption in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

The new government took initial steps to address corruption, and progress was made by year's end. Other problems included violence against women and children, and substandard education for Romani children; harsh conditions in state-run institutions for children; trafficking in persons; discrimination against persons with disabilities; and discrimination against minority groups.”

The Report does mention the reports of vote buying during Bulgaria’s 2009 elections, and the last-minute changes to the electoral legislation carried out by the Stanishev government.

It also includes information about several scandals which rocked Bulgaria in 2009 – inlcuding the affair with the abuse of power by the State National Security Agency DANS, and the fact that in the fall of 2010 it was made responsible only for domestic intelligence.

“The National Intelligence Service and the National Protective Service, which answer to the president, continued to operate in the absence of judicial, executive, and legislative oversight,” the Report states.

It emphasizes some issues with media freedom in Bulgaria including the affiliation of some media with business and political interests and the fact that media in the country could be susceptible to economic and political pressure.

“Corruption was pervasive in the country and plagued all branches of government. Corrupt practices included bribery, EU funds fraud, elaborate embezzlement schemes, legislation protecting private interests, and official protection for organized crime figures. Corruption reportedly was severe in high civil and administrative courts,” the US State Department concludes.

The Report reminds of the scandal with “Krasio the Black”, “an influence broker who allegedly claimed he could sway eight to 13 of the Supreme Judicial Council votes needed to obtain a high-level judicial appointment in exchange for EUR 200 000.”

While saying that Bulgaria has made some progress with regard to the European Commission’s criticism about the absoption of EU funds, the US State Department also mentions the lack of progress on the notorious SAPARD draining case and the trial of the Nikolov-Stoykov Group.

“Societal discrimination continued, particularly against women, sexual minorities, and ethnic minorities. Trafficking in persons continued to be a problem”, the report on Bulgaria’s human rights situation concludes.

Full Text of the US State Dept Human Rights report on Bulgaria READ HERE

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