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MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES |
Notes on the Agenda |
CM/Notes/1514/H46-42 |
5 December 2024 |
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1514th meeting, 3-5 December 2024 (DH) Human rights
H46-42 Paketova and Others v. Bulgaria (Application No. 17808/19) Supervision of the execution of the European Court’s judgments Reference documents |
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Application |
Case |
Judgment of |
Final on |
Indicator for the classification |
Case description
This case concerns the omissions of the different relevant authorities, which resulted in a situation where the applicants, fifty-one Bulgarian nationals of Roma[1] ethnic origin, were driven away from their homes after anti-Roma protests in January and February 2019 and were unable to return. Moreover, these events remained without any legal consequences and the applicants were not offered adequate support (violation of Article 8 in conjunction with Article 14 of the Convention).
The European Court found that the repeated public display of unacceptance of the Roma by public officials (a Deputy Prime Minister and mayors) and opposition to their return, and the stigmatising language used, reinforced the applicants’ legitimate fear for their safety and represented a real obstacle to their peaceful return. Moreover, the prosecutor’s office had not made a genuine attempt to establish the circumstances and to ascertain the identity and behaviour of the persons involved in the events. While the police reacted rapidly and ensured that no physical violence or destruction of houses occurred, the applicants were not provided protection that could have allowed them to safely remain in their homes or information about shelters, social or legal services or competent bodies that could assist them.
Status of execution
The authorities submitted an action plan and an addendum to it, respectively on 5 July 2023
(DH-DD(2023)845) and on 15 October 2024 (DH-DD(2024)1176).
Individual measures
- Submission by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC): In their communication of 17 October 2024
(DH-DD(2024)1224), the BHC noted that the “cleansing” of the Roma neighbourhood of Voyvodinovo was a serious hate crime, committed by public officials and private individuals, which called for comprehensive investigation of the relevant circumstances and for holding the perpetrators accountable.
The BHC also argued that the loss of homes and difficulties experienced by the applicants were a direct consequence of the violations established in the present case, which required the Government to offer some support or compensation for the permanent loss of the applicants’ homes.
- Response of the Government: The authorities replied (DH-DD(2024)1224), in line with their position expressed in the action plan (DH-DD(2023)845), that no individual measures were necessary apart from the payment of just satisfaction. They contested the claim of the BHC that applicants’ houses were destroyed after they had left Voyvodinovo in January 2019 and indicated that some of the applicants possessed property elsewhere before the events, acquired such property after the events or lived abroad. The authorities indicated that some aspects were to be examined in a case communicated to the Government by the European Court,[2] which required restraint when discussing them.
The authorities noted that there were also no grounds to seek additional compensation since the violation in no way concerned the alleged “permanent loss of home”. In any event, the applicants had obtained redress with regard to the complaint for discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity as a result of: a) a judgment of 28 June 2024[3] of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) concerning the statement of the Deputy Prime Minister under the Protection against Discrimination Act and b) a decision of the Anti-Discrimination Commission of 26 July 2022 recognising that the relevant mayor had breached the antidiscrimination legislation by failing to take certain positive measures.[4] The authorities submit that the domestic law contains provisions allowing the applicants to seek further compensation under domestic law.
General measures:
1) Measures adopted or envisaged
The authorities indicated that the judgment had been disseminated to the authorities involved in the events. They expressed the opinion that the violation was an isolated one and the dissemination of the judgment is a sufficient measure (see DH-DD(2023)845).
In their rule 9 submission the BHC argued that these incidents were not isolated, pointing to allegedly similar incidents in other towns or villages[5] and claiming that the perpetrators of these incidents were almost never brought to justice (DH-DD(2024)1224). The BHC underlined that there appeared to exist both a problem with the legislation and with the willingness of the law enforcement officials to investigate and punish such crimes.
In their reply, the authorities indicated that the isolated character of the violation was confirmed by the absence of identical applications in which the Court had found a violation of the Convention and concluded that any reference to other examples of alleged cases of Roma population being driven away from their homes is irrelevant.
The Government indicated that the Municipality of Maritsa (city of Plovdiv) had previously presented detailed information on land plots for building social houses for the implementation of the National Strategy for Roma Inclusion (2012 - 2020) and the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005 – 2015).
2) Report of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
In her report following her visit to Bulgaria from 25 to 29 November 2019[6] the then Commissioner found that hostility against Roma has reached alarming levels, as indicated by a wave of anti-Roma rallies which had taken place in several localities across Bulgaria. She observed, inter alia, that many Roma people left the village of Voyvodinovo in fear, virtually overnight and that the expulsed Roma had been living in the overcrowded Roma neighbourhood Stolipinovo in the city of Plovdiv in degrading conditions and lack of basic services.
She described a similar incident in the town of Gabrovo in April 2019. The Commissioner was struck by the scale and the consequences of these events, which had forced hundreds of Roma to leave their homes.
3) Report by the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) on Bulgaria
In its 2022 report, ECRI described in some detail the incident in the town of Gabrovo[7], which took place following a robbery and assault reportedly committed by three Roma men, and consisted of protests by residents armed with batons demanding that Roma people be banished from the city and setting fire to houses. The authorities reportedly urged Roma to spend a few days with relatives in other municipalities. In the aftermath of the events, the Gabrovo Municipal Council declared its rejection of any form of violence and aggression. ECRI strongly recommended that the authorities take all necessary measures to prevent threats and violence against Roma and ensure that the authors of any such threats and violence are held accountable.
4) Fifth Opinion on Bulgaria by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
In its opinion of 29 May 2024,[8] the Advisory Committee observed that the Prosecutor's Office did not collect statistical information on the motives of hate crimes. The authorities have nevertheless provided the Advisory Committee with data on the number of initiated criminal proceedings and convictions for hate crimes committed under Articles 162-166 of the Criminal Code for the period 2019-2023, which showed a low number of cases. The authorities reported that since 1 January 2022, data was collected and processed for the cases initiated in relation to criminal offences containing a discrimination element, including hate crimes. In 2023, the topic of hate speech became an integral part of the training curriculum on human rights and protection from discrimination, provided at the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior.
The Advisory Committee also expressed strong concerns regarding the negative rhetoric from politicians and public figures against Roma. It indicated the need for active efforts to combat prejudices and stereotypes targeting Roma (including regular evaluation of training needs for the application of the legislation related to racist offences). It also considered that targeted measures to prevent violent attacks against Roma are needed and hence, asked the authorities to ensure effective investigation, prosecution and sanctioning of hate crime and hate speech.
Analysis of the Secretariat
Individual measures
In view of the nature of the violation established in this case on account of the applicants’ inability to return to their homes, the insufficient support offered to them and the lack of legal consequences, the authorities' conclusion that no measures were necessary beyond the payment of just satisfaction awarded by the European Court cannot be endorsed.
Additional information is required on measures adopted or foreseen to overcome the negative consequences of the violation for the applicants, as explained below.
As regards the personal situation of the applicants, it should be noted that after their departure from Voyvodinovo, the local authorities issued orders for the demolition of illegal buildings, for removing unsafe constructions or prohibiting usage of some of the houses. The compatibility of some of these orders with the Convention is subject to separate applications pending before the European Court.
It remains however unclear whether at this stage, the applicants can return to Voyvodinovo, whether they are willing to return and whether any of them still live in dire conditions because of the events at stake in this case.
Therefore, the Committee may wish to invite the authorities to provide detailed information on the applicants’ current housing situation, on any support they may require for overcoming the consequences of the 2019 events and on steps taken to offer such support.
As regards the absence of legal consequences to the events, the authorities have provided information on proceedings under the Protection against Discrimination Act initiated by private persons, but no information has been provided on re-examination by the prosecutors of these events, in the light of the findings in this judgment.
In this context, it is important to recall that the European Court’s criticised the failure of the prosecutors to ascertain who were the private individuals and what conduct they had engaged in, which led all the applicants to flee their homes. It criticised also the elusive reasons for concluding that there had been no groups of people gathered with the intention of attacking others or their property on ethnic or racial grounds. It is therefore proposed to the Committee to invite the Bulgarian authorities to provide information on re-examination by the competent prosecutors of the contemporaneous evidence set out in the judgment and on the possibilities for carrying out further inquiries or investigation in these events.
Finally, in view of the cumulative omissions of all the authorities involved (mayors, police, prosecutor’s offices) and which led to the discrimination, and taking into account also the strongly stigmatising language used by officials in this case, the authorities could also consider making a public apology or acknowledgement addressed to the applicants and other expelled residents of Voyvodinovo and expressing a commitment to adopt a Convention-compliant approach in handling similar incidents. Such step could also serve as a general measure.
General measures
As a preliminary remark, it should be noted that the authorities' conclusion that no measures beyond the dissemination of the judgment were necessary cannot be endorsed. On the one hand, several different sources indicate that the present case is not a unique example of a situation where persons of Roma origin have faced rallies obliging them to flee their homes. On the other hand, the violation itself was not due to the isolated mistakes of a single authority, but to the cumulative omissions and controversial statements of several State authorities, and thus requires thorough analysis of the capacity of the State authorities to act in a coordinated manner to prevent such violations.
1) Targeted dissemination and a high-level political message
Considering the strongly stigmatising language targeting the Roma community in Bulgaria used by a Deputy Prime Minister and mayors, at the origin of the violation found in this case, it appears useful to reflect on training for public officials concerning the requirements of the case-law of the European Court under Articles 8 and 14 of the Convention, while drawing on the resources available in the Council of Europe. A delivery of a high-level political message to denounce such attitudes amounting to hate speech and to indicate that the authors of such acts shall be held accountable could also be envisaged.
2) Coordination between authorities regarding incidents caused by anti-Roma sentiments
It is proposed to the Committee to request information on measures adopted or envisaged to ensure that in cases of public disorder, protests, and manifestations in relation to anti-Roma sentiments or other type of ethnic based violence or threats, there are adequate procedures to be followed by local and central authorities (including police, prosecutors, social services) to provide suitable protection to the individuals concerned, in order to ensure effective respect for their private and family life.
3) Implementation of criminal law provisions related to hate crimes
Preventing similar violations requires also that racially motivated threats, violence or hate speech do not remain without legal consequences and that the authors of such acts are held accountable.
Therefore, the authorities could be invited to provide information on the prosecutorial and judicial practices concerning criminal-law provisions punishing racially or ethnically motivated crimes, including on the number of anti-Roma rallies or hate speech investigated or prosecuted and on the outcome of possible criminal proceedings. Information would be also useful on statistical or other tools to identify such investigations, which are mentioned in the recent opinion of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
The authorities could be encouraged to draw inspiration in their work and analysis from the available Council of Europe resources, including Recommendation CM/Rec(2024)4 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on combating hate crime and Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on combating hate speech.
Moreover, the authorities could be encouraged to provide information on relevant trainings for magistrates and law-enforcement agents. In this context, they could be encouraged to draw on the resources available in the Council of Europe.
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Financing assured: YES |
[1] The term “Roma and Travellers” is used at the Council of Europe to encompass the wide diversity of the groups covered by the work of the Council of Europe in this field: on the one hand a) Roma, Sinti/Manush, Calé, Kaale, Romanichals, Boyash/Rudari; b) Balkan Egyptians (Egyptians and Ashkali); c) Eastern groups (Dom, Lom and Abdal); and, on the other hand, groups such as Travellers, Yenish, and the populations designated under the administrative term “Gens du voyage”, as well as persons who identify themselves as Gypsies. The present is an explanatory footnote, not a definition of Roma and/or Travellers.
[2] The application Anka Delkova Paketova and Others against Bulgaria, No. 43381/20, concerns 12 demolition orders concerning houses in Voyvodinovo, issued by the relevant mayor.
[3] The reading of judgment No. 8085 of 28 June 2024 of the SAC (case 2122/2024) indicates that the proceedings, initiated by an NGO and a private individual, have not ended, but were referred to the Antidiscrimination Commission, as the SAC revoked the repeated refusal of that body to rule on claims that the former Deputy Prime Minister committed discrimination through stigmatising language.
[4] The mayor was fined 250 BGN (approximately 125 EUR) of the Antidiscrimination Commission.
[5] The BHC referred to incidents that took place in Gabrovo with dozens of Roma expelled from the city and houses destroyed by angry citizens; similar incidents in other villages; a “cleansing” of a Roma neighbourhood in the Sofia district of Orlandovtsi in 2023. They also argued that attacks on Roma neighbourhoods without “cleansing” of their inhabitants have been more frequent.
[6] See Report by the Commissioner for Human Rights (CommDH(2020)8), published on 30 March 2020, §§ 11-16
[7] See Report by the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of 2022 on Bulgaria (sixth monitoring cycle), adopted on 28 June 2022, published on 4 October 2022, §§ 46 and 47.
[8] See Fifth Opinion on Bulgaria on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, §§ 82 – 85, 91 and 92.