CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 19 OF THE CONVENTION
Third periodic reports of States parties due in 1996
Addendum
Bulgaria*
[7 October 2002]
CONTENTS
Introduction (paras. 1 - 5)
I. INFORMATION ON NEW MEASURES AND RECENT RESULTS REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLES 1-16 OF THE CONVENTION (paras. 6 - 63)
A. Legislative measures (paras. 6 - 20)
B. Administrative measures (paras. 21 - 44)
C. Measures relating to training of law enforcement
personnel in the field of prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or
punishment (art. 10) (paras. 45 - 56)
D. Complaints, inquiries, indictments, court proceedings, sentences, reparations and compensation with regard to acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 13) (paras. 57 - 63)
II. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED BY THE COMMITTEE (para. 64)
III. TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE (paras. 65 - 93)
A. Issues which have been resolved (paras. 66 - 67)
B. Subjects of concern and recommendations regarding questions which are in the process of solution by legislative or administrative means (paras. 68 - 93)
IV. CONCLUSION (paras. 94 - 96)
Introduction
1.
The second periodic report
of the Republic of Bulgaria was sent to the Committee against Torture in Geneva
in June 1998. Its examination took
place on 30 April and 3 May 1999. The Committee adopted its concluding observations
on 5 May 1999.
2.
Along with the positive developments
in the process of implementation of the provisions of the Convention established
by the Committee, the latter pointed out some factors impeding the implementation
process. In a constructive and cooperative spirit, five subjects of concern
were outlined and as many recommendations were made. The Bulgarian Government respects and appreciates
the assessments and recommendations of the Committee. These comments and recommendations as well
as the general guidelines as to the form and contents of periodic reports
have been taken into consideration in the elaboration of the present report.
3.
In addition, in order to
make up for the delay, the previous report envisaged a time limit for measures
to be adopted from 1992 to 1996, inclusive. But as the last recommendation of the Committee
(A/54/44, para. 162 (e)) includes part of the period covered by the second
periodic report of the Republic of Bulgaria, certain issues outlined in it
will not be treated in the present report.
4.
Satisfied with the overall
positive appraisal made by the Committee of the developments until 1997, the
Government of the Republic of Bulgaria wishes to reiterate its firm determination
to continue to strictly fulfil its obligations under the Convention.
Evidence of that is the full assistance provided with regard to the
realization of the Project of Observation of the Conduct of Law-Enforcement
Bodies, the Situation in Prisons, Police and Investigation Detention Facilities,
Psychiatric Institutions and Reformatory Boarding Schools in Bulgaria.
This project is a continuation of the one-year project of the Bulgarian
Helsinki Committee to monitor conditions at places of detention - both projects
cover the period 1997/99. Adequate
measures have been taken to redress weaknesses and problems referred to in
the detailed report. The same can
be said about the critical remarks of the European Committee for the Prevention
of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) made after
their visit to our country in April 1999.
5.
In general, the established
practice of providing the necessary conditions to ensure openness and transparency
with regard to the problem of torture will continue.
So will the assistance of the Government to check-ups and inspections
by international institutions and non‑governmental Bulgarian and foreign
organizations. Their comments and
recommendations will be borne in mind and we hope to achieve, through joint
efforts with the Committee, as we share one and the same objective, ever better
results in limiting and reducing cases of torture.
I. Information on New Measures and Recent Results regarding the Implementation of Articles 1-16 of the convention
A. Legislative measures
6.
As is known, in the last
10 years the Republic of Bulgaria has been undergoing fundamental qualitative
changes in its transition from a State under totalitarian socialism, with
its centralized economy, dictatorship and disregard for or violation of human
rights, to a democratic State. The aspiration now is to build a free-market
economy and to ensure democratic social development and a civil society. It was only in the last three to four years
that the pace of the transition has accelerated to the maximum and the existing
numerous problems and pending questions, including those bearing upon the
Convention, began to be solved gradually.
That did not escape the attention of influential politicians, economists
and other experts of Governments and international organizations, including
the Committee.
7.
The rates of positive changes
are still not the ones we would like to see, but we should not forget that
there are quite a few objective difficulties of an internal and international
nature. First and foremost come the
economic problems of Bulgaria and the crisis in Kosovo and in Yugoslavia in
general, which are definitely interrelated, as well as the painful and slow
change of social consciousness.
8.
In the period under review,
a number of legislative, administrative and other measures were adopted in
the Republic of Bulgaria in implementation of articles 1-16 of the Convention.
9.
The legislative measures
can be defined on two levels - in terms of international law and internal
law. It is worth noting, on the international
plane, that the Republic of Bulgaria has ratified several international instruments
such as: the Hague Convention on International
Access to Justice (July 1997), the Second Optional Protocol to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death
penalty and Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms concerning the abolition of the death penalty
(20 July 1999); Protocol No. 1 and Protocol No. 2 to the European Convention
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment
(29 July 1997); the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
(26 February 1999), etc. As per
article 5, paragraph 4, of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, these
international agreements are part of the internal law of the country.
They supersede any domestic legislation stipulating otherwise.
10.
Serious efforts were made
to periodically renew the internal legislation - the Criminal Code was amended
and supplemented 10 times; the Code of Criminal Procedure - 7 times; the Law
on Punishment Enforcement - 4 times. The considerably improved Law on Combating Anti-Social Behaviour
of Minors and Under-Age Persons has been in force since early 1997. Some of these amendments concern problems treated
in the Convention and issues raised by the Committee.
11.
The most important positive
change in the Criminal Code was the abolition in December 1998 of the
death penalty which for over 100 years had been present in the law as an element
of the penal system. The fact of the abolition of the death penalty was widely commented
on and welcomed by foreign politicians, statesmen, State institutions and
international organizations. It was
specifically mentioned under section B, Positive aspects, subparagraph
(c) of the concluding observations of the Committee.
The major amendments and supplements to the Criminal Code of 1997 provided
for new standards of protection of the individual in general and relating
in particular to torture in the meaning of article 1 of the Convention.
For instance, article 142, paragraph 6, stipulates liability for kidnapping
and unlawful deprivation of liberty when committed by an officer in the system
of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - the punishment is from 3 to 10 years. A little milder, but still a sufficiently severe punishment - imprisonment
from 1 to 6 years - is imposed for unlawful deprivation of liberty committed
by an official in violation of his duties (art. 142a, para. 2). More severe punishment is envisaged for a person
employed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the offences of coercion,
hostage-taking, threat to commit a crime, etc.
12.
Of the repeated amendments
made to the Code of Criminal Procedure in the spirit of the Conventions
provisions, the following should be mentioned.
13.
In 1997, a new article 439b
was introduced to stipulate the conditions for a refusal to extradite aliens
who have committed an offence to another State.
Pursuant to article 4, paragraph 2, a Bulgarian national shall
not be extradited to a foreign State to be tried or serve a punishment.
Thus, pursuant to paragraph 2, subparagraph 3, of article 439b of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, extradition of an alien shall not be allowed if
that person is expected to be subjected, in the requesting State, to
violence, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or if there
have not been secured any guarantees of protection of his rights as envisaged
under this Code. Provisions
of a similar content and in an adequate form have already been included in
the bilateral agreements on extradition between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan, Armenia
and China. This trend will be followed with regard to
future extradition agreements.
14.
Further analysing internal
legislative measures, we should point out that the new provisions of the Law
on Combating Anti-Social Behaviour of Minors and Under-Age Persons enlarged
the number of relevant public and social institutions as well as the scope
of their possibilities for humane and tolerant treatment of minor offenders
who are not legally responsible. An important element of the new legislation is the improved regime
of placement in a reformatory boarding school. A mandatory ex officio judicial control is required with regard
to the legality of and justified grounds for that placement. The law has also limited the period of stay
of minors and under-age persons in these special schools.
15.
In the period 1997-2000,
in accordance with the international commitments undertaken by the Republic
of Bulgaria and the changed socio-economic conditions, a review was made of
the existing normative acts and some modifications were adopted in the penitentiary
sphere, i.e.:
(a) With regard to provisions of the Law on Punishment Enforcement related to the abolished death penalty (1997 and 1998): establishment of a Prison Fund; demilitarization of the personnel; creation of a mechanism for submitting petitions and complaints, which are not subject to supervision by the administration, to human rights bodies of the United Nations and the Council of Europe; application of labour regulations for people deprived of liberty in accordance with the market economy principles; legislative endorsement of the religious support accorded to people deprived of liberty;
(b) By virtue of the Ordinance of 1999 on the Situation of Charged Persons and Accused Persons in Custody, some significant changes were made in the status of persons who have not been convicted which better conform to the presumption of their innocence;
(c) A new instruction was issued in 1997 on the rights and obligations of warders and guards at places of deprivation of liberty in connection with the use of truncheons as a last resort and its prohibition in cases of demonstrative disobedience, a refusal to follow orders and arrogant behaviour on the part of inmates;
(d) A special Order of the Minister of Justice of 1998 regulated the conditions and procedure for enabling imprisoned persons to work at commercial enterprises, with other legal entities and as traders;
(e) An ordinance was adopted in 1997 on the establishment of transitional labour reformatory hostels and on the procedure for placement therein and serving the punishment of deprivation of liberty. That ordinance also provided for the extenuation of isolation and restrictions applied to convicted persons serving their punishment in prisons and their participation in active resocialization efforts before their release;
(f) Regulations of the Internal Order in Prisons and Closed Prison Hostels (1998) and a List of Objects and Belongings that Persons Deprived of Liberty Are Allowed to Keep When Serving Their Punishments at Closed Institutions for Recidivists and Non-Recidivists (1998) were adopted.
16.
New Regulations on the structure
of the Ministry of Justice adopted in December 1999 govern the intensified
control exercised by the General Administration of Places of Deprivation of
Liberty over prisons and pre-trial detention facilities with a view to respecting
the legal situation of detainees. That was preceded by amendments and supplements
to the Judicial System Act of November 1998 as a result of which pre-trial
detention facilities came under the Ministry of Justice and its structure
of management of places of deprivation of liberty.
17.
In early 1998 a new detailed
law on the Ministry of Internal Affairs came into force followed by Regulations
for its application, some necessary ordinances and other acts.
They all radically changed the philosophy of the functions of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs bodies now serving the society which, for its part, exercises
civil control over these bodies. The
new acts have proclaimed the respect for the rights and freedoms of citizens
as well as their dignity as the basic principle of the work of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs and the protection of these rights and freedoms as its
main task. The use of firearms, physical force and auxiliary
aids has been proclaimed as admissible only when important functions of the
Ministry cannot be performed in any other way.
18.
The use of weapons and auxiliary
aids has further been limited by an Order of the Minister of Internal Affairs
of October 1998 which imposed a ban on the use of weapons by officers of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs while apprehending fleeing offenders if that
would endanger the life or health of citizens, except when the life or health
of officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or other citizens is in danger.
19.
In the same context, as per
the Law on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, guarding the States frontiers
with a possible use of arms against offenders has been replaced by control
of border-crossings by a specialized police service which is subject to civil
control.
20.
Certain legislative changes
were also introduced in the field of forcible psychiatric treatment with a
view to ruling out any manifestations of torture in the meaning of the Convention.
Forcible hospitalization of dependent patients without any signs of
a severe mental derangement was abolished by virtue of the amendments and
supplements to the Public Health Act (February 1997).
Forcible labour was also abolished.
Besides, the period for reviewing a court ruling on placement in a
psychiatric institution was reduced from one year to six months.
B. Administrative measures
21.
During the period under review
the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Supreme Cassation Prosecutors
Office, the Specialized Investigation Service, the Ministry of Justice and
the Ministry of Health undertook a number of actions in their respective fields
with regard to the implementation of the obligations under articles 2-16 of
the Convention.
22.
Since
the outset of socio-economic changes in 1989 the Ministry of Internal Affairs
has been making continuous efforts to improve conditions at places of police
custody. As this is a problem attracting the attention of the Committee and other specialized
international institutions as well as non-governmental organizations, the
process of improving conditions at police detention facilities, particularly
in the last three to four years, has been developing rather fast.
According to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Code
of Criminal Procedure, police custody may last for 24 hours or, if the custody
has been ordered by a public prosecutor, up to 72 hours before the person
in question must appear before the court.
In this context:
(a) The documentation concerning police custody has been brought into line with the requirements of both internal and international legislation for this activity and, above all, for the prevention of torture;
(b) Detainees are provided with the possibility of using a lawyer; health care and meals are guaranteed; relatives are notified of their situation;
(c) Most of the facilities receiving persons in custody against whom auxiliary police aids have been used, have been reconditioned so as not to cause any discomfort or a feeling of inhuman or degrading treatment. For example, at the recommendation of representatives of the CPT, by order of the Director of the National Investigation Service of 8 July 1999, the height of the horizontal metal rail used for handcuffing detainees was lowered so that the arm of the handcuffed person is not raised too high. That height was decreased from 2 m to 80-120 cm from the floor. In the meantime, police officers have been ordered to check handcuffs put on detainees every hour to ensure normal blood circulation;
(d) Reliable control is exercised over the observance of the rights of detainees regarding their registration as well as the rights ensuing from internal order regulations;
(e) In the period after April 1999 measures were adopted to fulfil the recommendations of CPT (which visited the Republic of Bulgaria in April 1999) for the improvement of the state of detention facilities. The attention is now focused mainly on issues which have not yet been resolved. They are related to improving material conditions at places of detention; providing better living conditions to detainees; ensuring the necessary capacity in terms of premises arranged in accordance with international requirements; the scarcity of funds for reconstruction, new construction and upkeep of premises and wages of employees; limits for telephone calls and the unavailability of lawyers at places of detention;
(f) As per the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in particular at Football Matches, special attention is accorded to issues relating to violence and hooliganism at sports competitions, especially football matches. Measures are being taken to establish an optimal security organization at sports competitions with a view to minimizing conditions for the commission of unlawful acts and violence by police officers.
23.
Pursuant to article 127,
paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Prosecutors
Office (along with its other functions) supervises the legality of enforcement
of penal and other coercive measures. That includes supervision over prisons and
pre-trial detention facilities. According
to official information of the Supreme Cassation Prosecutors Office,
521 checks were undertaken in 1999 to that end. In case of violations that do not involve the
commission of a crime, the management of the prison is given mandatory instructions.
24.
Another form of counteracting
any violations of the right to inviolability of the individual and the personal
freedom of citizens is the work of the Prosecutors Office aimed at preventing
any unjustified detention of prisoners after the expiry of sentence.
It is considered that the main reason for keeping prisoners without
any grounds after they have served their punishment is the non-application
or wrong application by the court of the requirements for concurrent punishments
where several offences have been committed by the convicted person.
The Prosecutors Office has accounted for 134 cases of unjustified
detentions in 1998 and 108 cases in 1999.
The Prosecutors Office reacted in due time by putting forward
a proposal for instituting legal proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure
(art. 304, para. 1) to define a total punishment as well as to take into consideration
police custody under article 376a of the Code of Criminal Procedure in cases
when the court has failed to do so.
25.
In performance of its duty
to supervise the enforcement of coercive measures, the Prosecutors Office
also makes systematic inspections of psychiatric care institutions in the
country in order to establish the legality of the compulsory hospitalization
of patients and monitor their treatment by the staff.
In 1999 it was found that there were no more grounds for keeping and
forcibly treating two persons at a mental hospital and so their immediate
release was decreed.
26.
The Supreme Cassation Prosecutors
Office and the Chief Prosecutor have their specific functions defined in the
Code of Criminal Procedure in connection with article 3 of the Convention.
Data supplied by the Prosecutors Office indicate that for the
period under review (1 January 1997-31 December 1999) there were no problems
relating in any way whatsoever to this provision of the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. A total of 73 applications for extradition were processed of which 48 were
filed by foreign States and 25 by the Bulgarian State.
Twenty‑one persons were extradited to applicant States while
13 persons, charged with committing a crime or with court sentences, were
extradited to Bulgaria. The Bulgarian State has only refused extradition
in one case - on the basis of article 439b, paragraph 2, subparagraph
1, proposal 2 - to Uzbekistan, due to the fact that the alleged offence was
considered to be connected to a political offence. In the remaining 26 cases either
the applications were withdrawn by the applicant States or the documents submitted
were not complete, or the cases were pending. For the period under review, there were no
cases of refusal of a Bulgarian application by any State on the basis of article 439b,
paragraph 2, subparagraph 3, of the Code of Criminal Procedure - a danger
that the wanted person would be subjected to torture or similar treatment.
But the consideration of any application for extradition of a foreign
national always involves an in-depth assessment of the possibility of refusing
the application on the grounds that the person in question might be subjected
to torture.
27.
For the period under review,
quite a number of administrative measures have also been taken by the Specialized
Investigation Services for implementation of the Convention:
(a) By a special act of February 1997, Instructions on the Organization and Procedure of Health Care in Detention Facilities of the Specialized Investigation Service were sent out to relevant subordinate structures;
(b) In December 1997 an administrative order was issued concerning mandatory medical screening of each person brought to a detention facility of the District and Regional Investigation Services;
(c) On 2 November 1998 a written order was sent out to allow inspections in places of detention to be made by missions of CPT in accordance with the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. The same order contained mandatory instructions to security inspectors at the places of detention to plan for training sessions in the new academic year in order to familiarize the personnel with the content of the European Convention and the Convention against Torture and to arrange examinations on the rights and obligations of the personnel with regard to detainees;
(d) Administrative measures have also been undertaken to ensure priority treatment of cases of persons in custody. An Ordinance to Expedite the Work Regarding Persons in Custody was issued on 29 July 1997. Circular Letter No. 21191 of 1 October 1997 called for immediate measures for a prompt and lawful conclusion of cases of persons in custody at places of deprivation of liberty. Another circular letter, of 21 October 1997 was sent out concerning checks on cases of under-age defendants in custody.
28.
The pace of administrative
and other transformation in the system of places of deprivation of liberty
is rather fast (prompted perhaps by frequent inspections made by Bulgarian
and foreign non-governmental organizations and commissions of international
organizations). The most significant
ones can be listed below.
29.
Demilitarization of the managing
personnel, social workers, economic services and health‑care personnel
has been effected since 1998. Civil
management organization was introduced and the principle of civil treatment
of persons deprived of liberty was established.
30.
Measures aimed at improving
the handling of complaints were adopted in October 1997.
Special boxes were placed in each prison for inmates to post freely
(not subject to supervision by the administration) their applications and
complaints to the Deputy Minister of Justice, who is responsible for prisons.
About 600 such applications and complaints per year are received in
the Ministry of Justice; each of them is considered and accorded the necessary
attention with a view to finding a solution to the problems raised.
31.
By virtue of the above‑mentioned
Ordinance No. 2 of April 1999 of the Ministry of Justice, the conditions of
persons in custody at pre-trial detention facilities (persons charged in a
pre-trial phase and defendants in court proceedings) has been equalized with
that of persons sentenced to deprivation of liberty with effective sentences.
Normative guarantees have been created to rule out any restrictions
on persons in custody at pre-trial detention facilities with regard to visits,
correspondence, use of money for personal needs as well as of newspapers,
radio and TV, outdoor walks, etc. In
implementation of the prescriptions of the Ordinance some difficulties of
an organizational/managerial nature are being encountered which are gradually
being overcome.
32.
After the second visit (25
April-7 May 1999) of a delegation of CPT pursuant to article 7 of the European
Convention (the first visit took place in March/April 1995), the Ministry
of Justice undertook a number of specific organizational actions to redress
shortcomings and remove the other sources of the negative findings of the
delegation.
33.
In June 1999 a national meeting
was held devoted to legality and observance of human rights at places of deprivation
of liberty. After serious deliberations and discussions joint measures were
mapped out with the Prosecutors Office aimed at improving the work in
that direction.
34.
In the period following 1996
the main efforts of the Government and the Ministry of Justice were targeted
at a radical improvement of the living conditions of detainees.
The Council of Ministers adopted a medium-term public investment programme
for the period 1998‑2001 which is now under way.
The purpose of these investments is to decrease overcrowding in prisons
and pre‑trial detention facilities as well as to introduce positive
changes in the material living conditions.
In the first two years of the programme (1998-1999) eight major projects
were completed and commissioned: four
labour reformatory hostels, provision of gas to the Lovech prison; construction
of external sewerage at the Pleven prison; refurbishment of a pre‑trial
isolation facility at the Sofia prison hospital and construction of a completely
new psycho‑neurological and tuberculosis hospital at the Lovech prison. Ten more projects in the prison system are
to be completed in 2000 and 2001.
35.
In 1998-1999 the buildings
of the Boychinovtsi reformatory for delinquents were fully renovated while
funds were invested in all other prisons with a view to improving the living
conditions. The realization of the
investment programme created work opportunities for prisoners.
The opening up of new lines of production resulted in an increase of
the number of jobs by 434 during that period.
36.
A phased-out closing down
of all detention facilities situated underground started.
Half of the existing 28 facilities of that kind have already been closed
down. The rest of the prisoners are to be accommodated
in suitable State-owned or municipal buildings or barracks vacated by the
Ministry of Defence. The plans are
to close down all underground investigation detention facilities and to bring
all detention facilities in line with the requirements by the end of 2001. To that end, funds amounting to 3,714,000 lev
have been allocated for 2000.
37.
A campaign of building up
outdoor facilities for persons in custody at pre-trial detention places is
now in progress. By the end of the
year such facilities will be built at 15 such places.
38.
In 1998 the places of deprivation
of liberty in the Republic of Bulgaria were supplemented by new transitional
prison hostels. They have been operating as an experiment since 1994 to accommodate
persons sentenced to long terms of imprisonment who have behaved well and
have served a certain part of the punishment imposed on them in closed penitentiaries.
At present there are five transitional prison hostels.
For two of them the State ceded the right of ownership over military
housing units vacated in connection with the ongoing reform of the Bulgarian
army. Three more buildings of that kind are to be
equipped as transitional hostels by the end of 2000. With the increase of penitentiaries with a relaxed regime and conditions
close to those outside the prison, the number of prisoners placed in them
is expected to reach 1,500. Thus,
overcrowding in prisons, which is one of the existing problems bearing upon
the Convention, will be diminished.
39.
In accordance with the National
Programme of Prophylaxis, Diagnostics and Treatment of Tuberculosis in the
Republic of Bulgaria, a work programme was elaborated to fight tuberculosis
at penitentiaries. Teams of the Ministry of Health equipped with a digital fluorograph
examined all persons deprived of liberty (and personnel) from November 1999
to April 2000. The programme to combat
tuberculosis is being fully applied also to persons in custody at pre‑trial
detention facilities. Budgetary means have been provided for medicines and consumables
as well as bigger food rations for successful treatment of patients in the
two phases of the disease. In view
of the great importance of prophylaxis and health care, a new ordinance on
health care at facilities of deprivation of liberty has been worked out which
pays special attention to prophylaxis and treatment of contagious diseases
and tuberculosis.
40.
In connection with the abolition
of the death penalty, two new punishments were introduced in the penal system
in 1995 and 1998 under the Criminal Code, i.e. life imprisonment
and life imprisonment which is not subject to replacement.
The law stipulates that life prisoners be kept at separate prisons
or special premises within the other (ordinary) prisons.
For the time being these persons, who number several score, are placed
at the closest prison to their former place of residence so that they can
be in contact with their families. The
isolation of these persons is not absolute but only with regard to the other
prisoners as those sentenced to life are accommodated in rooms for two or
more persons. However, their isolation with regard to other
prisoners does not apply to visits, receipt of food parcels, the possibility
to be in contact with the outside world, etc.; in practice they live under
the same conditions as the prisoners sentenced to deprivation of liberty.
Unfortunately, the material base at prisons on the whole is outdated
and worn out and all the required material living conditions are still not
available everywhere (constant access to running water, sufficient living
space, etc.).
41.
With a view to bringing the
enforcement of life imprisonment into conformity with the European standards
for treating convicted persons, in February 2000 a national meeting was held
with prison directors where they were instructed to review the premises of
life prisoners and to propose adequate measures to bring them into line with
the requirements.
42.
The Ministry of Health also
adopted administrative measures and a normative base for their application
in connection with the improvement of conditions and in conformity with the
provisions of the Convention. In May 1998 the Ministry adopted a new concept of psychiatric health
care in the Republic of Bulgaria based on the principles of human rights for
mental patients. These rights are
guaranteed by the legislation but also by way of certain procedures and rules. The concept involves a totally new approach,
i.e. institutional service isolating mental patients to be replaced by a set
of services at their place of residence so that these patients can remain
a part of the community where they belonged before they were sick.
43.
A Ministry of Health programme
of reform of psychiatric care based on the concept of psychiatric health care
was adopted in March 1999 and started in the same year.
44.
Since 1999 an ordinance on
the minimum package of services of specialists has been in force, including
services offered by specialist psychiatrists in the out-of-hospital framework
within the health insurance system. These activities have been defined in consideration
of the new rules and procedures outlined in the Concept of Psychiatric Care
Reform.
C. Measures relating to training of law enforcement personnel in the field of prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 10)
45.
The standards of international
humanitarian law are studied at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in accordance
with the established standards of the Uniform State Requirements adopted by
the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria.
This education is provided by specialized and highly qualified lecturers
of academic rank and title. Study programmes, depending on the category
of trainees and the duration of training courses, include various problems
of international law and human rights. The
provisions of international legal instruments on human rights are also studied
under training programmes carried out without discontinuing work. Very useful in this respect is the police pocket
manual International Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement
prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
46.
A special training programme
for personnel regarding the observance of human rights is implemented with
the assistance of Bulgarian and foreign government and non-government bodies
and organizations which provide specific lecturers.
Under preparation is a long‑term programme of cooperation along
that line with the participation of lecturers from EU member States.
47.
In implementation of the
general provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Ministry of Internal Affairs carries
out educational programmes on international legal instruments on human rights
at its specialized training institutions. The scientific/theoretical and practical problems
of international humanitarian law are treated in special courses held at the
Higher Officer Training and Research Institute as well as at schools for sergeants.
48.
A research project on Police
Prevention of Crimes of Violence Victimizing Women and Children was
done at the Research Institute of Criminal Science and Criminology of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and is to be published and made available for
training purposes to the National Police Service. Publications of the Police and Human
Rights programme of the Council of Europe are also studied at the Ministry
of Internal Affairs units.
49.
The training programme of
the police investigation personnel in 1999 included topics regarding standards
of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Tests covered not only special issues relating to lawful investigation
but also questions of the international instruments on human rights.
50.
As a result of an agreement
between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC), eight courses in humanitarian law and human rights were
arranged under the PHARE project in the period 1997-2000 with special emphasis
on the adequate performance of police operations and the lawful exercise of
police powers. An international seminar on Border police and the rights of
immigrants and refugees and a course in the problems of refugees and
human rights were also held. There
was a joint project with the British Council, Sofia, on Integration
of human rights problems in police education in Bulgaria.
51.
An international conference
on Human rights and refugee rights education took place in 1998
with the participation of high-ranking officials of the Ministries of Internal
Affairs of France and Austria, the European Commission, the British Council,
ICRC, UNHCR, the National Territorial Asylum and Refugee Office, the police
attachs of France and Germany, non-governmental organizations and the Higher
Officer Training and Research Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
52.
For understandable reasons
there have been no special training programmes on the provisions of the Convention
at the Prosecutors Office and the Investigation Service.
Public prosecutors and examining magistrates have law degrees and in
the course of their training at Law Faculties studied the Convention as a
source of international criminal law. Later
on in their careers they had to recollect the standards which, along with
the other standards of legal defence, are prerequisites for a successful professional
performance. Therefore, they need no special training.
Nevertheless, they are constantly reminded at staff meetings to observe
international regulations concerning human rights and, in particular, neither
to commit nor to allow any acts of torture.
That such acts do not exist in the Prosecutors Office and the
Investigation Service is corroborated by their official reports:
according to them, no complaints have been filed by detainees with
regard to beating or any other forms of physical or psychological torture
on the part of examining magistrates or public prosecutors in the period under
review - 1997-1999.
53.
Active education efforts
in the spirit of the provisions of the Convention have been addressed to the
prison personnel. These efforts can
be described as follows:
(a) In accordance with the provisions of article 63 of the European Prison Rules, all newly appointed personnel attend courses of initial prison training. The curriculum covers the following topics: international standards of treatment of persons deprived of liberty, international standards of health care at facilities of deprivation of liberty, social work as a guarantee of the observance of human rights of detainees (12 training sessions). For the 1997‑1999 period 593 warders and 121 staff members - officers, social workers, psychologists, doctors, economists, etc. - attended initial training courses;
(b) A seminar on the European penal philosophy was held in 1998. Two courses were arranged within the framework of the seminar European standards of treatment of persons deprived of liberty and Methods of regulation of the prison population. The courses were attended by a total of 52 directors and deputy directors of prisons and a total of 23 directors of labour reformatory hostels. Courses were also attended by representatives of the Prosecutors Office, the courts and municipal monitoring commissions. The Hans Zeidel Foundation financed the undertaking while lecturers and experts of the Central Prison Administration and the Prosecutors Office did the training;
(c) Under forms of special training we can also mention the training seminars on Womens prisons of the twenty-first century (1998) and International standards of treatment of persons deprived of liberty of non-Bulgarian ethnic identity (1999). They were held for the prison personnel in Sliven and the managing personnel of the prisons in Stara Zagora, Bourgas and Lovech, a total of 50 at two three-day seminars. They were attended by Bulgarian and international (Prison Reform International) non-governmental organizations, including a lecturer from the South-east Missouri State University specialized in the training of probation and penitentiary personnel.
54.
Of importance in the training
of prison personnel are the courses within the framework of the International
standards of treatment of persons deprived of liberty project (1998).
This project was realized by the Penitentiary Centre of Research and
Training of the Central Prison Administration and the Association for Resocialization
of Persons Deprived of Liberty, while the funding was provided by the Open
Society Foundation. The programme
of courses included topics relating to the European Convention on Human Rights,
the European Convention against Torture, the European Prison Rules, international
standards of professional ethics, international legal acts governing individual
professional behaviour. Involved in
the training were university professors and lecturers of the Penitentiary
Centre of Research and Training of the Central Prison Administration. The course for prison directors was led by
Ives Van den Berg, a representative of the Central Prison Administration of
Belgium and member of a working group for the elaboration of a new law on
punishment enforcement. In general,
14 five-day courses were held on International standards of treatment
of persons deprived of liberty attended by a total of 300 staff members: prison directors, deputy directors responsible
for the prison regime and security and for social work with the prisoners,
directors of labour and reformatory hostels, inspectors engaged in social
work with persons deprived of liberty (3 courses); medical personnel of prison
health-care services (2 courses); prison security inspectors, chief warders
(3 courses); psychologists and personnel of the Human Resources Department;
the personnel of the Production and Economic Activities Department in prisons.
55.
In addition, meetings are
arranged with all the staff at facilities of deprivation of liberty to familiarize
them with the findings of the CPT missions after the two inspections made
in Bulgaria in 1995 and 1999.
56.
In accordance with the psychiatric
care reform programme of the Ministry of Health, the programme of studies
of students and post-graduates in psychiatry has been changed accordingly
to include training in new technologies. With a view to guaranteeing a humane attitude
on the part of the personnel at psychiatric care institutions, two specialized
training courses were held at the Forensic Psychiatry Clinic of the University
of Medicine, Sofia. The first course
was dedicated to The conflict between coercion and care in psychiatric
cases and the second one to Crisis interventions with specific
clients. For the purpose of
promoting the objectives of the Convention, the National Centre of Public
Health, a Ministry of Health structure, published
two brochures, the first one entitled Guiding Principles in Ensuring
the Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders and the second one Psychiatric
Care Legislation - Ten Basic Principles.
A book, Ethical Problems in Psychiatric Health Care, was
published within the framework of a research and education programme of the
above-mentioned National Centre jointly with the Bulgarian Psychiatric Association
and the Bulgarian Association of Psychiatric Nurses.
D. Complaints, inquiries, indictments, court proceedings, sentences, reparations and compensation with regard to acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 13)
57.
A specialized unit has been
set up at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and an effectively operating organization
has been created for receiving and considering complaints, proposals, denunciations
and applications of citizens. For
the 1997-2000 period 378 complaints of citizens were filed for beatings
committed by officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1997 - 179,
1998 - 152, 1999 - 38, 2000 - 9). These
complaints were verified and in the cases when unlawful actions on the part
of personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were established, the materials
were forwarded to the Military Prosecutors Office.
58.
The official data supplied
by the Ministry of Internal Affairs indicate that for the period 1 January
1997-29 February 2002 the Ministry received information on 166 cases of coercive
acts against citizens committed by 170 officials of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs. Investigative proceedings
were instituted in 48 cases (1997 - 37, 1998 - 4, 1999 - 6 and up to the present
moment in 2000 - 1). The materials of 34 cases were forwarded to
the Military Prosecutors Office (1997 - 21, 1998 - 3, 1999 - 8, 2000
- 2). Thirty-eight officers of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs have been dismissed for having committed violent acts (1997 ‑ 22, 1998
- 8, 1999 - 8). Other disciplinary punishments of varied gravity have been imposed
on 47 officers.
59.
According to information
provided by the Supreme Cassation Prosecutors Office:
(a) For the 1998-1999 period the district military prosecutors offices in the country have submitted a total of 81 indictments against police personnel for violence to be examined by the court. Most of the charges are in connection with light bodily injuries;
(b) Investigative proceedings No. XVI-13/1999 were instituted by the Sofia District Military Prosecutors Office on 27 July 1999 in order to establish the reasons for and circumstances under which bodily injuries were inflicted on a defendant, Yuri Lenev, in the murder case of MP Andrey Loukanov;
(c) For the 1998-1999 period the district military prosecutors offices set up 392 files based on applications of victims of police violence. About 25 per cent of these files have been concluded by instituting investigative proceedings or additional information was required. The rest have been closed with a refusal to institute preliminary proceedings due to the absence of a crime.
60.
In 1997-2000 a total of 75
complaints for beatings, unlawful actions and inhuman treatment of persons
deprived of liberty have been registered at places of deprivation of liberty.
Six of them have been found well grounded and 69 groundless. Parallel with the complaints,
as a result of internal routine checks some disciplinary measures were applied
to 36 staff members at places of deprivation of liberty. For having beaten persons deprived of liberty,
six officers were sanctioned; two of them were dismissed with a disciplinary
measure and the materials were submitted to the Military Prosecutors
Office for prosecution. Eighteen security
officers were punished for unlawful application of physical force with truncheons,
11 for inhuman and rough treatment and 1 for unlawful actions.
61.
As is clear from the above
information, each breach committed by penitentiary personnel is countered
in due time and after a thorough investigation adequate disciplinary measures
are taken. The case analysis shows
that breaches affecting the legal status of persons deprived of liberty are
mainly committed by prison guards. In this context, it is planned to continue with the project International
standards of treatment of persons deprived of liberty and to include
the whole sergeant-level staff of guards at prisons and pre-trial detention
facilities.
62.
The places of deprivation
of liberty were the subject of inspections by a delegation of the CPT in 1995
and 1999. The heightened attention
to the actions of the penitentiary administration led to a greater control
over and rigour with regard to the personnel with a view to not allowing any
cases of physical ill-treatment, degrading attitudes and mental cruelty in
the enforcement of punishment. That could be illustrated by the measures adopted
in response to the findings of the CPT delegation which inspected the Bourgas
prison in 1999. Basically, they concerned
allegations of verbal offences and inhuman treatment of persons deprived of
liberty by the personnel. In this
connection, by Order No. -03-1058 of 29 June 1999 of the Deputy Minister
of Justice, independent experts of law enforcement bodies of the Republic
of Bulgaria checked up on the facts. They found some tension between the personnel and persons deprived
of liberty relating to unjustified firmness and use of force in the discharge
of duties as well as a degrading attitude towards the persons deprived of
liberty. For this reason, by Order
No. -03-774 of 12 May 1999 of the Minister of Justice, the Prison
Director, Valentin Enchev, was dismissed and a few days later, by Order No.
-03-822 of 15 May 1999 of the Minister of Justice, the Deputy Director,
Plamen Kolev, who was responsible for the social work at the prison, was also
dismissed.
63.
Specific information provided
by the Ministry of Health concerning treatment of mental patients in 1999
indicates that the 24 psychiatric care institutions in the Republic of Bulgaria
admitted 24,791 patients of whom 1,558 were subjected to forcible and compulsory
treatment. For the same period, the
five psychiatric clinics of university hospitals admitted 5,568 patients of
whom 47 were subjected to forcible and compulsory treatment.
Although official records make no reference to cases of torture of
patients by the personnel, the unsolved problems bearing upon the Convention
are mostly related to the unsatisfactory material conditions in which mental
patients are treated. That was what the experts of the CPT found
during their visit to Bulgaria in April 1999.
II. Additional Information Requested by the Committee
64.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
has not received any request from the Committee to provide information which
was not supplied in the previous report of the Republic of Bulgaria.
But the Government states its readiness to provide any information
that may be of interest to the Committee concerning the implementation of
its obligations under the Convention.
III. Taking into Consideration the Concluding observations of the Committee
65.
Along with the reported achievements
in the implementation of obligations under the Convention and the factors
impeding the overall application of its provisions, the concluding comments
of the Committee (A/54/44, paras. 151-162) indicate five subjects of concern
(ibid., sect. D) and as many recommendations (ibid., sect. E).
Some of the issues raised have already been solved while others are
still the subject of a legislative or administrative procedure aimed at their
solution.
A. Issues which have been resolved
66.
Among the subjects of concern
mentioned in the concluding observations of the Committee is that legislative
and other measures are not sufficiently effective to ensure the respect of
the provisions of article 3 of the Convention (ibid., para. 158).
In this context, we believe that with the adoption of the new above-cited
article 439b, paragraph 2, subparagraph 3, of the Code of Criminal Procedure
(August 1997) as well as the information provided by the Supreme Cassation
Prosecutors Office in the Republic of Bulgaria and included in the report
concerning the application of this text, the question referred to in paragraph
158 should not cause any further concern to the Committee members.
67.
A recommendation (para. 162
(d)) with reference to the previous report is not to allow censor checks
by prison personnel or other authorities of letters of prisoners addressed
to international organizations of investigation and settlement of disputes.
In this context, the right of prisoners to correspond freely with international
human rights organizations was guaranteed by legislation adopted in 1998. By virtue of the amendments to the Law on Punishment
Enforcement, the edited text of article 37, paragraph 2, envisages that the
human rights agencies of the United Nations and the Council of Europe
will be included in the list of bodies recipients of applications and complaints
which are not subject to control by the administration.
B. Subjects of concern and recommendations regarding questions which are in the process of solution by legislative or administrative means
68.
Important concerns and relevant
recommendations refer to the absence of a criminalized act of torture
(para. 157) as well as legislative measures for implementation of the provisions
of articles 2-6 of the Convention (para. 162 (a)); the lack of measures to
ensure universal jurisdiction with regard to acts of torture (para. 159);
continuing ill-treatment by police officials of persons belonging in most
cases to ethnic minorities (paras. 160 and 162 (c)); the lack of a prompt
and impartial system of investigation of alleged cases of torture and the
failure to bring them to court (para. 161).
69.
With reference to the above‑indicated
comments and recommendations, we would like to inform the Committee that the
legislative process in the country is aimed at adopting completely new laws
which are to take into consideration the provisions of the Convention and
the recommendations of the Committee in particular.
70.
The updated Bulgaria
2001 programme of the Government adopted in March 2000 envisages the
following legislative measures: elaboration
of a draft new Law on Punishment Enforcement with a view to carrying out a
reform in prisons and the prison administration; coordination of the legal
standards on punishment enforcement through the criminalization and decriminalization
of some acts under the Criminal Code; and improvement of the regime of serving
punishments in accordance with the changed socio‑political relations.
71.
The major development to
be expected with regard to the penal proceedings in 2000 is bringing the normative
standards into line with the spirit and principles of the United Nations Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the European Prison Rules.
In implementation of this task, by order of the Minister of Justice
of January 2000 a working group was set up to draw up, by the end of May 2000,
a draft of a new Law on Punishment Enforcement.
72.
The same applies to the field
of material criminal legislation. The new Criminal Code is expected to contain
text to the effect that acts of torture are offences under criminal law. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, as the main
government body concerned with the implementation of the Convention provisions,
takes a particular interest in this matter. Lecturers and researchers at the Academy of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs have already drafted texts on torture and
will insist, in accordance with the established procedure, that they be included
in the future Criminal Code, but if it is delayed a procedure will be initiated
to include this offence in the present Criminal Code as an amendment.
73.
As for the Code of Criminal
Procedure and the Law on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, some significant
and substantial changes have been made since the beginning of 2000 which will
create the bases for the solution of the problems referred to in the concluding
observations of the Committee.
74.
Of all the numerous and radical
changes in the Code of Criminal Procedure in force since early 2000, we will
mention only those stipulating that now the court is the only State body authorized
to pronounce on the imposition and modification of the most severe measure
of incarceration. The court shall
also exercise an initial and subsequent control over all proceedings and investigations
relating to any breach of the inviolability and rights of citizens.
Such permanent control shall also be exercised by the court with regard
to any other procedural measures of coercion vis--vis the defendant such
as: placement in a psychoneurological establishment
for examination, dismissal from work, police custody, etc. An expression of enhanced guarantees for the
rights of citizens and in particular the prohibition of any act of torture
is the possibility for interested persons to appeal against court acts in
the above‑mentioned domains before a higher court, whose decision shall
be final.
75.
To the above-mentioned plans
and projects we could also add those which are related to the elaboration
of new laws and by-laws in the sphere of psychiatric treatment.
The most important are: a draft law on public health; a draft ordinance
on minimum standards (regulations) at psychiatric hospitals; a draft ordinance
on pre-treatment and rehabilitation programmes for dependent patients; and
a draft programme of psychiatric care reform for the 10‑year period 2000-2010.
76.
Paragraph 159 of the concluding
observations of the Committee referred to the lack of measures to ensure universal
jurisdiction with regard to acts of torture in all circumstances.
Indeed, such measures have not been adopted in our country and the
general jurisdiction procedure is applied.
For the time being, the idea of a special and differentiated procedure
approach to criminal acts of torture requiring special normative standards
has not crystalized, either in theoretical or legislative terms, and is not
supported. Naturally, if the Committee comes up with some
more concrete ideas or makes more specific recommendations to that end they
would be accepted and discussed in depth.
Still, it seems to us that legislative and administrative/organizational
responses should concentrate on the prohibition or prevention aspects rather
than on punishment.
77.
The idea to set up an independent
institution for the protection of human rights - an ombudsman - in Bulgaria
was the subject of discussion in the process of elaboration of the Basic Law
in 1991. However, that idea was not
realized in the Constitution adopted by the Grand National Assembly.
Nevertheless, in a wider interpretation of its provisions (e.g. article 56
concerning the right of everyone to legal defence whenever his/her legitimate
interests are violated or endangered), one could take the position that
the Constitution does not categorically rule out the possibility of the establishment
of additional structures for protection of rights and basic freedoms.
At this stage the idea of creating an ombudsman institution or another
similar independent national institution is not the subject of official consideration
at the National Assembly, although it is regularly discussed in the framework
of organized seminars, meetings, etc.
It is also necessary to note that the strategy of accession of Bulgaria
to the European Union features a clause on the necessity of intensifying the
discussion concerning the possible establishment of an ombudsman institution.
78.
One of the subjects of concern
pointed out by the Committee refers to the absence of a prompt and impartial
system of investigation of alleged cases of torture and the failure to bring
them to court (para. 161). We believe this concern to be of particular importance and, taking
into account the fact that it has many dimensions (aspects), we would like
to outline some of them.
79.
First and foremost is the
problem of allegation: what someone
says about an act of torture having been committed against him/her or anyone
else may not always be consistent with reality. Frequently, persons who have suffered
torture or other individuals may pursue their own selfish or other personal
objectives and interests and their statements may contain deliberately false
information. For instance, in early
April 2000, the press reported that the police had caught three wanted offenders.
Having alleged that immediately upon their arrest they were beaten,
these persons were taken to the Pirogov Emergency Hospital where
doctors did not find any traces of violence.
In other words, aware of the great public attention accorded to the
topic of torture, some offenders take their revenge, giving wrong
information about ill‑treatment by police or other officers.
80.
On the other hand, it is
understandable that besides their major aims, some non‑governmental
organizations may pursue interests of their own. Although they make an invaluable contribution as a public corrective
of the Government, they do not always supply well-balanced information to
international institutions. For instance,
anonymous polls have been carried out with prisoners who have alleged violence
during detention inside a police station or
during the investigation, and dubious results have been publicized. Sometimes, when it is claimed that torture
was committed, it was a case of lawful sanctions within the meaning of the
last sentence of article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
81.
Second, the Bulgarian legislation
has established a sufficiently prompt and impartial system providing guarantees
that any criminal acts of torture will be brought to justice.
The efficacy of the process of investigation was further increased
with the amendments which have become effective since 1 January 2000, while
impartiality cannot be questioned in view of the enlarged guarantees of protection
of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.
The judicial system follows the criminal procedure principle of finding
the objective truth for each offence, including each specific case of alleged
torture. In this sense, the objective is to punish the
official who has actually committed an offence, but at the same time to protect
such an official from arbitrary allegations incriminating him as having inflicted
unnecessary pain or suffering on another person while in reality that was
a result of lawful sanctions.
82.
In paragraph 160, the Committee
draws attention to continuing cases of ill-treatment by the police, especially
of persons belonging to ethnic minorities.
Although the problem of police violence and particularly violence against
gypsies, is not typical, the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the
Ministry of Internal Affairs are concerned.
Great efforts are being made to effectively counteract and find a solution
to that problem through the integration of minorities, on both a general and
a specific plane, by way of organizational, managerial and control measures,
personnel education, utilization of foreign experience and a number of other
undertakings.
83.
The Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities, which entered into force in February
1999, is a socio-political premise in terms of international law for an all-round
solution to the problem of minorities. As another important socio-political premise
in terms of internal law, we could cite the Framework Programme of Equal Integration
of Romas in the Bulgarian Society adopted by the Council of Ministers (June
1999). As is well known, the situation
with respect to the Turkish minority both regarding integration and along
the lines of the Convention against Torture is considerably better and does
not pose any special questions.
84.
The Governments Framework
Programme for the Integration of Romas came as a result of an agreement between
the Roma community and the Government. Both parties share the opinion that Romas should
be an active subject in the public sphere. In this context, the elimination of discrimination against Romas
should become one of the main priorities of the Bulgarian State. It will be accomplished through appropriate
changes in the Criminal Code and the legislation in force, by way of creating
a State body for the prevention of discrimination; setting up a subcommission
to deal with the problems of Romas within the parliamentary commission on
human rights, etc. At present, persons
of Roma origin work as experts in the Council of Ministers structure and some
ministries.
85.
The Framework Programme also
contains measures for economic development, health care, regional planning
of Roma housing, education, protection of the ethnic specificity and culture
of the Romas, their presence in the media, Roma women, etc.
86.
The work plans of all police
structures envisage specific undertakings to limit and rule out breaches of
the law and police violence (monitoring, prompt reactions to applications,
complaints and accusations, especially when they contain information about
violent acts of police officials, severe measures against guilty officials,
etc.). In the meantime, contacts have
been intensified with the media, public organizations and citizens with a
view to enhancing public control and attaining greater transparency, openness
and publicity in the work of the police and other bodies of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs.
87.
An idea has been under discussion
for some time to set up a specialized internal structure within the police
system to deal with cases of unlawful coercion exerted by police officials
as well as cases when police officials themselves have been targets of unlawful
coercive acts in the implementation of their duties.
In this context possibilities are being explored to develop an information
system and a database of breaches of the law committed by police officials
or against them.
88.
In the process of solving
the problem of police violence, the criteria for the selection of officials
of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been continuously streamlined.
The Ministry employs Bulgarian citizens without any distinction as
to their ethnic or religious characteristics.
Officials of Turkish, Roma, Armenian, Jewish, etc. origin have worked
and still work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs services.
The established practice in regions populated by compact groups with
a different ethnic self-consciousness is to attract predominantly people of
that ethnic group. These officials
enjoy all rights provided for by the Law on the Ministry of Internal Affairs
and they are appraised on the basis of their professional performance.
89.
All possibilities of studying
and adapting the positive European experience are fully utilized in the work
with the personnel. The year 1997
marked the successful start of the British Know‑How Fund Programme of
Cooperation with the National Police Service and the Ministry of Internal
Affairs. The projects were realized
in the Regional Directorates of Internal Affairs in Plovdiv and Sliven.
The joint work covered activities concerning minorities, minors, prevention
and public relations, and formation of a new system of management of uniformed
police regional units. The Programme
is actively engaged in the training of personnel of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs working in areas populated by compact groups of Romas and other ethnic
minorities in the country. Projects
for the integration of persons of Roma origin in the Ministry of Internal
Affairs services are also under way with the support of the British Know-How
Fund.
90.
The 1997-2000 period saw
activities along the following lines aimed at the prohibition and termination
of acts of torture and inhuman and cruel treatment and punishment on the part
of police officials:
(a) Police officials were familiarized in depth with the activities and functions of CPT;
(b) Regional police units were provided with information on the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and an adequate organization was created for them to study the Convention within the framework of the academic year;
(c) Managers at all levels and police personnel were briefed on the results of the inspections made by CPT and measures were taken to redress the shortcomings found in a due time;
(d) Work instructions for police officials engaged in police proceedings and implementation of their duties were brought into line with the provisions of the European Convention and the findings of CPT;
(e) Drafts of new internal documents bearing upon police work have been drawn up in compliance with the spirit of the Conventions requirements and the possibility for openness and monitoring by international bodies, for instance, a draft instruction on the use of auxiliary aids by police personnel, as well as a draft of an internal document regarding the procedure for the placement, regime, rights and obligations of persons in custody at isolation facilities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, health‑care establishments, etc.;
(f) In March 2000 the Director of the National Police Service submitted to the management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs a special act entitled Measures for limiting and prohibiting breaches of the law by officials of the National Police Service and police violence. This act stated, inter alia, that there was a direct relationship between the professional strain on officials and police violence which, in many cases, was a result of professional exhaustion and post-traumatic dysfunctions affecting the work of police officials. It proposed a great number and diversity of organizational/managerial, control/methodological and preventive measures (including training of personnel).
91.
In connection with the further
improvement of police work, training and qualifications of police officials,
experts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are working out a Code of Conduct
of the Policeman and a programme of promotion of a new motivation of officials
of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, enhancement of their qualifications,
and consolidation and improvement of the social status.
A Centre of the Higher Officer Training and Research Institute is to
be set up to organize education on human rights problems, work with minority
groups, ill-treatment of and discrimination against women and children, as
well as to work out a programme of activities of the Centre.
A joint project with the Assistance Centre for Torture Survivors -
ACET is under way including training of police officials on the topics Human
rights and good police practices and Police investigation and
human rights. Police officials will attend practical seminars
organized within the framework of a project of the World Organization against
Torture (OMCT).
92.
Under the Council of Europe
programme Activities for the development and consolidation of democratic
stability (ADACS) and the Council of Europe Intergovernmental Programme
of Activities in 2000, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will work for the
realization of the following projects:
(a) Organization of a seminar for officials of the National Police Service within the framework of Police and Human Rights Week to introduce the European Convention on Human Rights and the practices of the European Court of Human Rights;
(b) A two-week training module in the sphere of human rights;
(c) Specialized training on procedures of internal control and prevention of police violence with a view to acquiring the necessary skills for effective investigation of cases of police violence and exercise of control for the prevention of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment;
(d) Preparation of training kits on human rights including a manual to aid the lecturer, a textbook containing methods of discussion and audio-visual materials.
93.
After the adoption of the
new legislation on the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2000, the relevant
by-laws will be updated to include all major issues with regard to the prevention
of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
IV. CONCLUSION
94.
As is known, the problem
relating to violations of human rights and in particular torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is not an isolated problem
but a universal one. It exists with
varying intensity and seriousness in every State in the world irrespective
of its economic condition and extent of development of democracy and civil
society.
95.
To corroborate this, it suffices
to refer to the seventh report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur,
Sir Nigel Rodley, submitted to the Commission on Human Rights in 1999.
It is evident from the report that the situation in Bulgaria causes
less concern than in a number of other countries which took more space in
the report.
96.
Regardless of all measures,
it would be difficult to imagine that it would be possible in any country
to eliminate altogether all cases of torture, if only because of the fact
that there would always be public officials to commit such acts owing to defects
in the system of values or to insufficient mental stability and internal inhibitions.
Therefore, the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria
are aimed at eliminating the objective prerequisites leading to the commission
of acts of torture. Bearing in mind the geographical, historical,
demographic, economic and other factors relating to Bulgaria, one is likely
to think that the process of preventing and reducing cases of torture will
take more time. In this vein, the
adoption by the Government of the necessary legislative and other measures,
including the recommendations of the Committee, will continue, in implementation
of its obligations under the Convention.
-----
* The information submitted by Bulgaria in accordance with the consolidated guidelines for the initial part of the reports of States parties is contained in HRI/CORE/1/Add.81.
The initial report submitted by the Government of Bulgaria is contained in document CAT/C/5/Add.28 for its consideration by the Committee, see documents CAT/C/SR.97, 98 and 99, and the Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-seventh session, Supplement No. 44 (A/47/44), paras. 215-243.
The second periodic report submitted by the Government of Bulgaria is contained in document CAT/C/17/Add.19; for its consideration by the Committee, see documents CAT/C/SR.372, 375 and 379 and the Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty‑fourth session, Supplement No. 44 (A/54/44), paras. 151-162.