New special report published by BHC and Tolerance Foundation describes grave violations of religious rights in Bulgaria in 2004

2004 news

2003 news

2002 news

Additional information:

Special Report on the State of Religious Freedom in Bulgaria in 2004 (in Bulgarian)

Chapter on Freedom of Thought, Conscience, Religion and Belief from BHC Annual Report

14 July 2005 - The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and the Tolerance Foundation have published a Special Report on the State of Religious Freedom in Bulgaria in 2004. The report's main conclusion is that the adoption of the new Denominations Act in December 2002 and the attempt at the forceful "unification" of the divided Bulgarian Orthodox Church during the massive police raid on 20-21 July 2004 are the gravest violations of the religious rights of Bulgarian citizens after 1989 and among the severest human rights violations during the same period.

It also reports that in 2004 Bulgaria was convicted for the second time by the European Court in Strasbourg for interference in the internal affairs of the Muslim denomination (Gendjev v. Bulgaria).

The report makes a detailed analysis of the violations of religious rights in Bulgaria during the past years. Special attention is given to the 2002 Denominations Act. The law, even it does mark a step ahead in comparison with the 1949 Denominations Law, is repressive and discriminatory. The state used this law to interfere in the dispute between the two wings of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) and to pronounce one of them as legitimate, and the other - illegitimate. The law provides for a procedure through priests from the so called alternative synod can be deprived from the right to serve in Orthodox temples. Apart from its many shortcomings arising from ambiguous wording, the law contains the fundamental flaw of making the exercise of citizens' religious rights dependent on the existence of a registered religious institution. The law provides for collective punishments of whole religious communities for possible violations committed by separate community members.

The report pays special attention to the police raid from 20-21 July 2004. In the early morning of 21 July simultaneously across the whole country, and on the basis of similar prosecutor's orders, the police raided over 100 Orthodox temples and other buildings managed by the so called "Alternative Synod" of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, evicted the priests and brought in new ones appointed by the Synod of Maxim. The churches were handed over as property to this group of the BOC. The report describes gross violations of the Constitution (e.g. taking over property without a court order) and of domestic and international law (violations of at least 4 articles of the European Convention on Human Rights - art. 9, art. 6-1, art. 1 of P1 and art. 13) during the implementation of this unprecedented action.

The report also focuses on some other violations of religious rights during 2004 like the trial of the Muslim preacher Ahmed Musa Ahmed and the appointment of a temporary official leadership of the divided Muslim community by the Sofia City Court.

The report ends with the following recommendations:

- The result of the illegal raid from 20-21 July 2004 should be immediately annulled. The government should restore the situation from before the raid and make an effort for the peaceful solution of the problem.

- All illegal acts of the police and the prosecutor's office during the raid on 20-21 July should be investigated, and the guilty individuals - punished.

- The 2002 Denominations Act should be repealed or amended and brought in line with relevant international standards to which Bulgaria is a party.

- The government should abstain from interference in the internal affairs of religious denominations. It should exercise its constitutional obligation to guarantee tolerance between the different denominations, as well as between believers and non-believers.

- Discrimination against minority religious communities should come to an end and the bodies authorized to fight religious discrimination should investigate and sanction every case of such discrimination.

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