Statement concerning the request to deregister the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee

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On September 30, 2019, the VMRO - Bulgarian National Movement, one of the members of the coalition government, requested the Prosecutor General to deregister the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), active in Bulgaria since 1992 and an EIN member organization. 

This request is completely unacceptable. It openly targets and seeks to undermine the valuable human rights work done by the BHC, in particular in the fields of human rights litigation, human rights implementation and judicial reform.

EIN calls on the Bulgarian authorities to take all steps necessary to protect the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and its valuable work. The network also calls on international institutions – particularly the bodies of the Council of Europe – to do all they can to safeguard civil society in Bulgaria.  

European Implementation Network, 7th October 2019