Bulgaria: Human Rights Group Under Threat - Halt Attacks on Bulgarian Helsinki Committee; Dismiss Bogus Request

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"Bulgaria’s prosecutor general should reject a call from a political party in the country’s governing coalition to disband the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), Human Rights Watch said today. The party has been in legal battles for years with the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee over its stance on anti-discrimination issues."

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Bulgaria: Human Rights Group Under Threat - Halt Attacks on Bulgarian Helsinki Committee; Dismiss Bogus Request (HRW, link):

"“It’s completely unacceptable for a political party sitting in a European government to go after a respected human rights organization like the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Any attempts to silence or interfere with independent organizations doing legitimate human rights work is against Bulgaria’s obligations under EU and international law and should cease immediately.”

On September 30, 2019, the Bulgarian National Movement (VMRO), one of the members of  Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s ruling coalition, sent a letter to Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov asking him to deregister the organization. The letter contended that the organization “directly and indirectly exerts pressure on Bulgarian magistrates and engages in unconstitutional, unlawful, immoral and openly anti-Bulgarian activities.”"

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