No convictions for antisemitic crimes in Bulgaria last year, says report
FRA released a report on September 10, which documents antisemitic incidents that have occurred in the European Union from 2009 to 2019.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMembers and supporters of several nationalist organizations take part in a march in commemoration of Bulgarian General Hristo Lukov in Sofia, Bulgaria, February 17, 2018(photo credit: REUTERS/DIMITAR KYOSEMARLIEV)
There were no convictions for antisemitic crimes in Bulgaria in 2019, the second year in a row, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).In a report released on September 10, the FRA documented antisemitic incidents that have occurred in the European Union from 2009-2019.Nine antisemitic incidents were reported in 2019 by Bulgarian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev, who is the national coordinator on combating antisemitism, and the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria. Six of them were forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office.There have been seven convictions for antisemitic crimes in Bulgaria throughout the years covered in the report – one each in 2009, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 and two in 2015, the report said.The manner with which many European countries report and document antisemitic incidents impedes the FRA from collecting satisfactory data, the report said.“The inadequate recording of hate-crime incidents, including those of an antisemitic nature, coupled with victims’ hesitance to report incidents to the authorities contributes to the gross under-reporting of the extent, nature and characteristics of the antisemitic incidents that occur in the EU,” the report said, according to Sofia Globes news website.The skewed data impedes lawmakers from combating antisemitism appropriately or examining the effectiveness of policies already set in place, it said.“Incidents that are not reported are not investigated or prosecuted, allowing offenders to think that they can carry out such attacks with impunity,” the report said, according to Sofia Globes. “Victims who do not report their experiences to authorities may also not receive relevant information about available assistance.”Included among antisemitic crimes can be verbal or physical assault, harassment, threats, discrimination and vandalism, the report said.“Antisemitic incidents and hate crimes violate fundamental rights, especially the right to human dignity, the right to equality of treatment and the freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” the report said, according to Sofia Globes.
