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The document was released on Monday
The actionss of the Bulgarian government to tackle corruption and disregard for human rights are "insufficient". That is written in the annual 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released by the US State Department.
"Authorities took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses and corruption, but government actions were insufficient, and impunity was a problem," the report says.
Significant human rights issues included cruel or degrading treatment by authorities, including of detainees, migrants, and displaced and institutionalized children; arbitrary arrest; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious government corruption; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting members of the Roma community; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons.
The detention of the former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, the ex Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and the PR expert Sevdelina Arnaudova were given as examples of illegal arrest.
A high level of political and economic influence over the media combined with high levels of concentration of ownership is noted. In publishing the reports for all countries, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pointed out "the individual reports cover 198 countries and territories, providing factual, objective information based on credible reports of the events that occurred throughout 2022."
Ypu can read the report here.
