Bulgarian security services are encroaching more brutally and frequently against the human rights of Bulgarian citizens, according to the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC).

The BHC, a human rights NGO, presented Thursday its annual activity report for 2010, with its major conclusion being that there are worsening trends with respect to the use of spying devices, tracking personal correspondence, and use of force by the law enforcement authorities in Bulgaria.

The human rights activists described Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov's proneness to criticize the judiciary for every ruling "that is not to the Interior's liking" as a "brutal encroachment against the independence of the judicial branch."

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee further points out that in 2010 there was a record number of sentences against Bulgaria in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg – or a total of eight.

"In four of these cases the actions of the security forces led to the death of the victims, and in the others there was proven police brutality," the deputy head of the Committee Margarita Ilieva declared.

She pointed out the conclusion of the ECHR that the Bulgarian Interior Ministry Act has serious flaws allowing the police to overstep their rights, and that it is in violation of international law protecting the right of life and the right of protection against inhumane and humiliating treatment.

Furthermore, the Bulgarian authorities were criticized for failing to comply with the recommendations of the ECHR.

"At the end of 2010 Bulgaria was among the Council of Europe members with the highest number of unenforced ECHR rulings per capita," Ilieva said.

She further slammed the police for violations regarding the use of special surveillance devices, and the threefold increase of spying that she described as "a travesty, a proof of the total arbitrariness of this system." What is more, there is no mechanism to compensate people who were spied on but were not charged in court after that.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee has already asked Justice Minister Margarita Popova for reforms in the Special Surveillance Devices Act but those have failed to materialize to date. The same goes for a campaign against police brutality.

"The political leadership of the Interior Ministry is ignoring us," Ilieva said.

The only positive conclusion in the BHC report refers to the rights of children over government plans to replace orphanages with foster parents within a few years.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!