US State Department says Bulgaria's actions insufficient in human rights reports

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US State Department says Bulgaria's actions insufficient in human rights reports

In its annual 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released Monday, the US State DepartmentState Department says that the Bulgarian government's actions to tackle corruption and disregard for human rights are insufficient. The report says that government actions were insufficient and impunity was a problem.

Some significant human rights issues included cruel or degrading treatment by authorities, including detainees, migrants and displaced and institutionalized children, serious government corruption, crimes involving violence or threats against members of the Roma community, and crimes involving violence or threats against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons.

The detention of former prime minister Boyko Borissov was given as an example of illegal arrest, according to BNR correspondent Mladen Petkov.

A high level of political and economic influence over the media is noted, along with high levels of concentration of ownership. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pointed out that individual reports cover 198 countries and territories, providing factual, objective information based on credible reports of the events that occurred throughout 2022, in addition to the reports for all countries.