HRP on Strasbourg Court judgment on Velikova v. Bulgaria

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Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 10:48:24 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: HRP on Strasbourg Court judgment on Velikova v. Bulgaria

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Original sender: Human Rights Project <[email protected]>

HRP on Strasbourg Court judgment on Velikova v. Bulgaria


HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECT

Press Release, Sofia, May 19


On May 18, 2000 the European Court of Human Rights delivered its
judgment on the case Velikova v. Bulgaria. The Court found that
Bulgarian state had violated Article 2 (right to life) and Article 13
(right to an effective remedy) and awarded the applicant 100 000
French francs for non-pecuniary damages and 8 000 BGL for pecuniary
damages.

After the ruling on Assenov v. Bulgaria from October 28, 1998, in the
case Velikova v. Bulgaria the Strasbourg Court made a second judgment
on Bulgaria for sanctioning illegal actions of law enforcement organs
against Romani persons, in violation of the European Convention on
Human Rights.

Anya Velikova, a Romani woman from Pleven, Bulgaria, filed an
application with the European Court of Human Rights on February 12,
1998 with the assistance of the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC),
Budapest and the Human Rights Project (HRP), Bulgaria. She had been
represented before the Strasbourg Court by attorney Yonko Grozev. In
the application Anya Velikova claimed that her husband, Slavcho
Tsonchev, died under police custody on September 25, 1994 as a result
of torture by the police; that Bulgarian authorities failed to conduct
a thorough and impartial investigation into the case; that she had
been denied an effective remedy due to unreasonable prolongation of
the investigation; and that her husband had been subjected to
discrimination based on his Roma origin.

Slavcho Tsonchev, a Romani man, 49, was detained in the Police
Department of Pleven on September 24, 1994 at about 2 p.m. on
suspicion of cattle theft. At about 2 a.m. on September 25 a medical
doctor, called by the police, established his death. The cause of the
death had been blood loss resulting from numerous injuries on his
body.

Following the death of her husband, Anya Velikova requested the Human
Rights Project to start legal defense on the case before the domestic
judicial organs. In the next 3 years and 5 months inadequate
investigation failed to establish the circumstances leading to
Tsonchev�s death. Several months after the beginning of the
investigation, investigative actions had practically stopped. Numerous
complaints filed by the HRP attorney, Ilko Dimitrov, with the Regional
Prosecutor�s Office of Pleven and the Chief Prosecutor�s Office to
expedite the investigation, gave no result. Inactivity of the
investigation and prosecution authorities had been tantamount to
exoneration of the perpetrators of the crime committed against Slavcho
Tsonchev.

In its judgment the European Court of Human Rights concluded that
while there was indisputable evidence that Slavcho Tsonchev had died
as a result of grave injuries, inflicted upon him while in police
custody, Bulgarian government did not provide a plausible explanation
to the circumstances which had lead to his death. The Court also held
that Bulgarian authorities sanctioned serious and numerous
deficiencies in the investigation and notwithstanding the obvious
means of collecting evidence about the physical state and the death of
Tsonchev, the investigation officers failed to collect it. The Court
affirmed that Bulgarian state is responsible for violation of Article
13 since the lack of an effective investigation obstructed Anya
Velikova from obtaining any other available remedy.

The judgment of the European Court on the case Velikova v. Bulgaria
bears a marked significance for the defense of Roma rights in
Bulgaria. Romani people in Bulgaria, who are the most vulnerable
victims of police brutality, do not enjoy equal protection by the law.
In the period 1992-1998 the HRP has become aware of at least 14 cases
in which Romani persons have died as a result of torture or arbitrary
use of firearms by officers of the police. In the same period the HRP
reported several hundred cases in which Romani had been subjected to
physical abuse resulting in serious injuries. In the prevailing number
of cases, however, Romani victims of police violence had been denied
access to justice and did not obtain any remedies.

________________________________________

The Human Rights Project is an independent organization for the
defense of Roma rights, based in Bulgaria. The HRP conducts monitoring
of human rights of Roma and ensures legal defense in cases of human
rights abuse.

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