CAT/C/CR/32/6
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(i)
The entry into force of the Law on the Ombudsman on 1 January 2004;
(ii)
The adoption by the National Assembly of the Law on the Protection
against Discrimination on 16 September 2003 and other practical
measures in the field of protection against discrimination, such as the
recruitment of Roma into the police force;
(iii)
The entry into force of the new Law on Asylum and Refugees on
1 December 2002, notably the establishment of the State Agency for
Refugees as the single central refugee authority deciding on asylum, as
well as the introduction of the possibility of judicial review for decisions
taken in the accelerated procedure;
(iv)
The Code of Conduct of the Policeman adopted and introduced into
practice by order of the Minister of the Interior in October 2003;
(b)
The issuance of instruction No. I-167 of the Minster of the Interior of
23 July 2003 establishing procedures to be followed by the police upon detention of persons at
the structural units of the Ministry of the Interior;
(c)
The setting up of a specialized Human Rights Commission within the National
Police Service in August 2000, with a network of regional coordinators;
(d)
The transfer of the investigation detention facilities to the Ministry of Justice in
January 2000;
(e)
The access given to non-governmental organizations, such as the Bulgarian
Helsinki Committee, to visit prisons on a regular basis;
(f)
The information provided by the representative of the State party during the
dialogue that 13 underground investigative detention (pre-trial) facilities were closed in
April 2004 and that the State party is seeking urgent solutions for the remaining 5 underground
facilities;
(g)
The cooperation with the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and information offered by the
representative of the State party that it has authorized the publication of the report on the visit by
the CPT in 2002.
C. Subjects of Concern
5.
The Committee expresses concern about the following:
(a)
The absence in domestic law of a comprehensive definition of torture as set out in
article 1 of the Convention;
(b)
Numerous allegations of ill-treatment of persons in custody, in particular during
police interviews, which may amount to torture and which disproportionately affect the Roma;