Bulgarian Helsinki Committee

US Ambassador Eric Seth Rubin has issued a statement condemning the attack on Krasimir Kanev, the head of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee who on Thursday was subjected to an attack in downtown Sofia.

The statement, sent to Novinite, reads as follows:

Bulgarian authorities have not only failed to counter the climate of intolerance, but "have actively engaged in inflammatory speech and at times openly encouraged violence," John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Europe Director, has said.

His words follow the attack on Krasimir Kanev, who heads the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee on Friday.

Bulgarian penalty legislation concerning imprisoned female criminals should be reformed to fit international standards for the protection of human rights, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), announced on Tuesday.

The BHC's new report, Women in Prison, shows that prisons in Bulgaria provide equal treatment for men and women, which leads to discrimination of imprisoned women.

With Bulgaria strengthening its border security measures, migrants crossing the country to Serbia en route to western Europe "face tougher checks from police," the BBC's Nick Thorpe says in a news report published on Sunday.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) has dropped a controversial nomination for its Human of the Year Award following a public outcry.

A controversial nomination for the annual Human of the Year Award of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) has caused a major outcry in the country.

The reason for the discontent is the nomination of Australian citizen Jock Palfreeman, who is convicted of the murder of Bulgarian student Andrey Monov and is sentenced to twenty years in prison.

Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) MP, Dieter Dombrowski, has called on the Bulgarian prosecution to investigate the death of the Afghan migrant, which occurred near the country's border with Turkey last week.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) on Tuesday disputed the official version of last week's incident, in which an Afghan migrant was shot by Bulgarian border police after illegally crossing into Bulgaria from Turkey and died on his way to hospital.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has asked the Bulgarian government to stop the demolition of illegal dwellings in the Roma neighbourhood of the village of Garmen until housing has not been provided for the vulnerable families.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) has opposed the forced demolition of buildings and homes in the Roma neighborhood of the southwestern Bulgarian village of Garmen.

The human rights NGO cautions that the step leaves four families with nowhere to go, forcing them to sleep out in the open.