Tag: gay bulgaria

Bulgarian Parliament rejects gay propaganda ban law

Bulgarian lawmakers have thrown out a law which would have ended LGBTI people’s freedo m of expression and freedom to assembly with even more severe punishments than Russia’s ban on so-called homosexual propaganda Lawmakers in Bulgaria have rejected a proposal which would have banned any public discussion or display of LGBTI identity. The proposal to… Read more »

Bulgaria Court rules claim gay men are more dangerous than smoking is unlawful

The Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria has ruled that comments by Bulgarian film director Andrey Slabakov constitute unlawful harassment, ordering the country’s Commission for Protection against Discrimination to take action against him Bulgaria’s Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that comments made on national television by actor and director Andrey Slabakov saying homosexuals were more dangerous… Read more »

LGBT Pride and Protest: A First-Hand Report From Sofia, Bulgaria

Pride has always been a tense time in Sofia, Bulgaria, where I have lived for the last four years. In 2008, the year of the first Pride (not coincidentally, Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007), the parade was disrupted by a group of nationalists, who assaulted participants and threw Molotov cocktails. In subsequent years… Read more »

Sofia Pride cancelled due to fears of anti-gay attacks

Organizers of Sofia pride in Bulgaria have cancelled the event scheduled for tomorrow, citing security concerns Pride has been canceled in Sofia capital of Bulgaria, due to fears that anti-gay extremists may attack the participants. Organizers of Sofia Pride that was scheduled for tomorrow (22 June) say the event has been canceled due to the… Read more »

Bulgaria gay parade peaceful, despite provocations

A gay pride march in the Bulgarian capital Sofia stayed peaceful Saturday, but homosexuality remains a sensitive issue across the Balkans. Istanbul, Turkey – A Pride Parade in Bulgaria passed without threatened violence yesterday, but homosexuality remains a sensitive issue across the Balkans. In the weeks before, fears of violence had been stoked by provocative… Read more »

Bulgaria: Action, not just words, needed to tackle anti-gay hate crimes

An urgent overhaul of Bulgarian laws is needed to ensure that hate crimes which all too frequently target gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are properly investigated and prosecuted, Amnesty International recommends in a briefing published today. “Dozens of LGBT people have been beaten, raped, and in one case murdered because of their real… Read more »

Bulgaria: Government ‘should condemn priest’s call for stoning at Pride’

The Bulgarian justice minister has been called on to repudiate a priest’s call for physical violence against Pride marchers in the country’s capital city. The Human Rights Watch group has written to Justice Minister Diana Kovacheva expressing concern over the unchecked remarks made by Father Evgeni Yanakiev of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, to which most… Read more »

Relentless Homophobia Rages in the Balkans

“Be IN-tolerant! Be normal!”, appeals a poster that recently flooded the streets of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. As the first gay pride parade in Bulgaria is about to take place, amid strong opposition by nationalistic organisations and a large part of society, the high levels of persistent homophobia in the country and the Balkans as… Read more »