Tag: abuse of power

Why Do EU Politicians Avoid Discussing Bulgaria’s Rampant Corruption and Lack of Rule of Law? Dissecting the Silence!

.Reading time 12 minutes.

As a scholar with a research interest in the rule of law and as a Bulgarian citizen, I have been asking this question for a long time. For the sake of giving credit where credit is due, it is worth mentioning that the European Greens tried to raise concern about Bulgaria’s rampant corruption at the start of Bulgaria’s Presidency of the Council of the EU in January 2018 by publishing a critical report and by directly confronting Bulgaria’s Prime Minister on the matter at the European Parliament. However, they have progressively quieted down.

To be fair, the Greens are not in a position to do much either. Yet, what about the EPP, the Progressives or ALDE which is known for its motto “Values First”? These are the three largest groups at the European Parliament and all of them have members from Bulgaria.

At the end of August 2018, I carried out an improvised Twitter survey to see if my followers shared my worries (Figure 1). 36 people voted and 2 users who missed the deadline to cast their vote sent me separate comments, as we will see below.

So let’s see what the survey found?

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Vlog Post: The Presumption of Guilt in Bulgaria

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Contrary to the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and Directive 2016/343 on the presumption of innocence, Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office consistently applies a presumption of guilt!

Spectacular televised arrests, violence against suspects, destruction of proof, and simulation of trials are common in the country.

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Vlog Post: How Bulgaria Retaliated Against an Application under the US Magnitsky Act

.Reading time 2 minutes.

In my article “How to Purge a Scholar? A Guide to Bogus Interpol Notices from Bulgaria,” which was covered by mainstream Bulgaria media and read tens of thousands of times, I showcased Bulgaria’s deliberate abuse of Interpol notices for political aims. In addition to the frightening Red Notice, which Bulgaria’s prosecution uses to publicly lynch inconvenient people, Bulgarian authorities have added a new tool in their rich arsenal for political repression–Interpol’s Diffusion notice. Read More

Видео пост: Браудър, Магнитски и две “Дифузии”

.Reading time less than 1 minute.

В моята статия „Как да затриете учен? Прокурорско ръководство по свинщина“, която бе широко отразена в българските медии и прочетена десетки хиляди пъти, обърнах внимание на грубата злоупотреба на българската прокуратура с бюлетините на Интерпол. Освен прословутата „Червена бюлетина“, която прокуратурата използва най-вече за публично линчуване на неудобни хора, българските власти са прибавили и ново попълнение в зловещия си арсенал за политическа репресия – така наречената „Дифузия“. Read More