Bulgaria: Visits & Communications
Correspondence from 2004
The record of correspondence for 2004 is excerpted from the official United Nations report, E/CN.4/2004/7/Add.1.
Communication sent
On 29 July 2003, the Special Rapporteur and the Special Rapporteur on torture sent a communication to the Government of Bulgaria in connection with the case of Mehmed Mumun, a 46-year-old man also known as Milotin Mironov, who reportedly died on 11 January 2001 shortly after he was apprehended by the police in Sofia. He allegedly tried to avoid an identity check by police officers who had entered a restaurant in search of a murder suspect. Despite the fact that he was not reportedly the person the police were looking for, he was allegedly arrested and handcuffed, kicked all over his body after having been immobilized, and allegedly lost consciousness and died before he could receive any medical treatment. An autopsy reportedly established that he had suffered three fractured ribs and that he had previoulsy had a heart attack. An investigation into his death was reportedly launched.
Communication received
On 24 November 2003, the Government of Bulgaria responded regarding the case of Mehmed Mumun, also known as Milotin Mironov. According to the Government, on 9 January 2001, officers from the Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior and the 6th police station carried out a specialized police operation to find and detain the perpetrators of a number of burglaries committed within their jurisdiction. In the course of an ID check in the Pavlovo Hotel, a patron refused to present the relevant documents and tried to hide. After he was found by the officers, he resisted arrest and had to be forcibly handcuffed. Soon after, he showed signs of bad health: his handcuffs were removed but he fainted in the restaurant and died shortly afterwards. The Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior investigated the incident. An autopsy was also carried out, which indicated that he had died of a heart attack. A driver’s licence in the name of Milotin Mironov was found on the body of the deceased. A criminal case was initiated in connection with his death against two officers from the 6th police station for a criminal offence under article 124, paragraph 1, of the Penal Code in connection with article 20 of the Penal Code (murder due to negligence). On 5 March 2002, the Sofia Military Court issued acquitted the two officers. The Government stated that, following an appeal against the verdict, the case was returned for a hearing by a different panel. At the time of the communication, the penal procedure was still allegedly pending.
Correspondence from 1983-2002
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has been corresponding with Governments regarding alleged violations since the mandate was established over two decades ago. While the Project on Extrajudicial Executions is making efforts to provide easily browsed versions of as many years as possible, much of the earlier correspondence is available only in the PDF versions of reports from 1983 to the present.