On the morning of July 9, 1996, the offices of the Flamingo Center, a legally registered publisher of gay and lesbian erotic magazines, were vandalized by police forces from the third district police station of Sofia, Bulgaria. Uniformed police officers broke into the Tzar Simeon Street offices of the Flamingo Center, and confiscated all printed materials including the organizational database of 2,000 members, office equipment and assorted merchandise. Three Flamingo Center employees were arrested and met with crews from three television stations on arrival at the third district police station. The image of the first detainee removed from the police wagon was broadcast on the Central Evening News of all Bulgarian TV channels and published in local newspapers, accompanied by denigrating and defamatory commentary. All three arrested Flamingo Center employees were released after being held at the station for 10 hours.

As part of this recent growing wave of anti-gay harassment in Bulgaria, it is reported that on July 9, police forces also raided Comet, an erotic-video center on Vesletz Street in Sofia and seized all their video tapes. The national newspaper 24 Hours also reports that on July 11, police forces executed mass arrests of gay men including foreign visitors at a gay beach near the town of Varna. It is further reported that on July 13, police officers raided At Kayo, a private gay club on Yuri Venelin Street in Sofia, resulting in a reduction in its hours of operation. The national Standart and Trud newspapers have also reported the kidnapping of a gay activist a month ago in the port town of Rouse.

While the scope and severity of these raids is unprecedented in Bulgaria, anti- gay sentiment is not. In the summer of 1995, the Bulgarian General Attorney Mr. Ivan Tatartchev prevented the broadcast of a commercial prepared for a national television station, stating that it contained "homosexual elements which endangered the national morality." The current police campaign of terror against gays and lesbians comes in the wake of a drastic increase in organized crime and an increasingly fragile police structure. This has resulted in the unofficial state policy of inciting confrontations between ethnic and social groups with the aim of deflecting public opinion from the pressing national crises of the floundering bank system, the ballooning inflation rate and the inaccessibility of such basic foodstuffs as bread.

We are deeply concerned by these strategic acts of state sanctioned police brutality against the Bulgarian gay movement. These recent acts are in violation of the Bulgarian Constitution and numerous international covenants ratified by the state of Bulgaria. We are further deeply concerned about the well-being of Angel Bliznatchki, the only visible Bulgarian gay activist recognized by the authorities. We are calling on Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev to ensure that no more raids are carried out, and that steps be taken to thoroughly investigate those who authorized and participated in them, including Lieutenant-Colonel Sharankov and Examining-Magistrate Valentin Marinov of the third district police station of Sofia.

IGLHRC and the Flamingo Center are requesting that urgent letters of protest be sent to the following Bulgarian officials:

Mr. Zhelyu Zhelev
President
Republic of Bulgaria

1 Dondukov Street
1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
fax: +359-2-767-3226

Mr. Zhan Videnov
Prime Minister
Republic of Bulgaria

2 Dondukov Street
1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
fax: +359-2-767-3226

Mr. Blagovest Sendov
Chairman, National Assembly
Republic of Bulgaria

2 Narodno Sabranie Square
Sofia, Bulgaria

Mr. Ivan Tatarchev
General Attorney
Republic of Bulgaria

2 Alabin Street
Sofia, Bulgaria
fax: +359-2-80-1327