About 32% of Bulgarians believe that legislation like an anti-terrorism draft law now before Parliament is encroaching on civil rights, a new survey has shown.

However, 56% of respondents in a Gallup International poll say that curbs on civil rights help combat terrorism.

The survey was conducted over the phone among 1,605 respondents from July 14 to July 19.

Younger respondents favour freedom more strongly in their answers but the need for security dominates in their opinions as well. Older respondents give their preference to the maintaining of order, the survey showed.

In the survey, Gallup International used last year’s fatal shooting of a migrant from Afghanistan near the border with Turkey by Bulgarian border police to test potential repressive attitudes among Bulgarians.

“The respondents were nearly unanimous, with almost all those who are familiar with the case, saying that the police officer who shot the migrant dead has done his job and the prosecution was right to drop the case against him,” Gallup International said.

 Around 8% said that the border policeman had committed a murder.

To check affinity to "strong arm", the respondents were asked whether they approved of the activities of a non-existent institution - an Agency for Fighting Immigration. The question has drawn equal shares of approval and disapproval – 42% vs 41%. Only 17% were undecided.

The result ranked the non-existent agency among the public institutions with the highest approval rating in Bulgaria, Gallup International commented.

“This is a further proof that the migrant wave causes a huge tension in mass consciousness and easily triggers support for any measures against it,” the polling agency concluded in its survey [BG].