POLICE BRUTALITY IN BULGARIA: THE SHADOW OF THE "IRON HAND"
In a number of Central and Eastern European countries, the collapse of the former communist state systems and the following transition to deregulated market economies has lead to a rise of crime. This disquieting development, in its turn, has fuelled calls for tough, "iron hand" policing. Krassimir Kanev is the Chairman of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. In the following contribution he suggests that the Bulgarian law enforcement apparatus is slipping from democratic and judicial control. Wide-spread police brutality is contributing to a climate of insecurity no less than crime itself, writes Kanev.
Linking the rise of crime to democratic development
More than five years after the beginning of the democratic transition in Bulgaria, the public debate on the basic values of democracy faces a problem which was constantly discussed in the "informal circles" during the communist regime and for a short period of time also after its fall - police brutality, and the abuse of force by law enforcement officials. Several years after 1991 interested circles, mainly among former and present police officers, were trying to establish a necessary link between democratic development and the rise of crime. The image of the state as a "village without dogs" as well as the policeman with his hands tied by "democracy", poorly paid and ill-equipped to deal with modern crime was systematically pressed upon the public by politicians and media, by police officers, businessmen, nationalists and hate groups.
"Tough cops": heroes or criminals?
As the years passed, there was a general ideological and political backlash; and against this background the law was gradually giving the police a free hand. The battered Ladas were replaced by new Chryslers and BMWs and some newspapers began to describe the deeds of "cops" in almost sacred overtones.
At the same time, however, alarming reports began to appear:
in 1994 a gang of policemen from Kiustendil committed a series of murders and robberies culminating in the brutal, almost public, murder of Violeta Georgieva in the centre of the city;
in February 1994, a policeman killed the emigrant Krustiu Krustev in Sofia;
in January 1995 another policeman killed an innocent person in Sofia in front of his wife; and
in April 1995, after a brutal assault in one police station in Sofia, several policemen killed Hristo Hristov with kicks and a specially prepared stick, while simultaneously drowning his shouts with music from loudspeakers.
These were the reported cases. There were however many more cases that remained unreported.
Shootings, torture and ill-treatment
In May 1995, the then Interior Minister Nachev stated that 17 people died while in custody during the previous 14 months. In June 1996, Amnesty International published a special report describing several unreported cases of deaths in suspicious circumstances and more than 20 other cases of shootings, torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officials (See BULGARIA: Shootings, deaths in custody, torture and ill-treatment, AI Report, June 1996, AI INDEX: EUR 15/07/96). Almost nothing has been written about the "techniques" for extraction of evidence in some police stations and in "investigation" prisons, although a number complaints to non-governmental groups refer to systematic ill-treatment, including the use of "Falaka" - blows with sticks on the soles of the feet. And, as in other cases of human rights violations, the ethnic minorities, some religious and other marginal groups are at greater risk when confronted with the police. The police in Bulgaria, it emerged, are not a group which is immune from committing crimes.
Legal obstacles prevent prosecution of policemen
But what can be done to launch criminal prosecutions in such cases? Are police perpetrators put on equal footing before the law with other citizens? The answer is no. Prosecution of police brutality in Bulgaria faces serious obstacles. Some of them stem from the law, the largest part of which in this particular aspect remained unchanged since the communist regime. These obstacles are the main reason for the climate of impunity which accompanies all abuses by police officers.
The first obstacle arises when criminal suspects are detained. For the vast majority of detainees, especially when they belong to an ethnic minority or are coloured foreigners, the right to a lawyer from the moment of detention in Bulgaria exists only on paper. There is no mechanism established by law which could serve as an effective guarantee. The same goes for the right of detainees to be medically examined by a doctor. When this issue was brought to the attention of several police officers by researchers of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee in February-March 1995, the most favourable response was a condescending smile. But the most serious problem with the prosecution of police brutality seems to be the difficulty in bringing a lawsuit afterwards.
In the Bulgarian criminal justice system this is done only by the military prosecutor with no active participation of the victim. There is no mechanism for bringing a private case. And if the prosecutor refuses to bring the case to court, which happens frequently, particularly with victims belonging to some ethnic minorities, this practically rules out any opportunity for redress, since there is no judicial review of refusals. In this respect, even the Bulgarian pre-war system was more progressive and more sensitive to the victim than the present one.
"Iron hand" policing a security threat
And, last but not least, there is no civil control of law enforcement officials in Bulgaria. This seems to be so alien to Bulgarian tradition and to the mentality of the administration that the few timid attempts in the past of some groups to promote the idea were met with mockery.
Many viewed the "iron hand" as a panacea for both the high crime rate and other types of "socially undesirable" conduct. But the shadow it threw and continues to throw contributes to insecurity no less than crime itself.
Krassimir Kanev
This article was first published in OBEKTIV (7/96), the newsletter of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. Contact: 21, Gladstone St, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria; Tel/Fax: +359/2 816823, or 873659, E-mail: bhc@sf.cit.bg