The 8 March 1995 Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) report, Human Rights in Bulgaria in 1994, states:

Last year, the media continuously reported of skinheads beating foreigners, with Arabs and Africans as the most frequent victims. The BHC has documented evidence on 26 attacks on Arabs and Africans in Sofia during which there had been physical violence, plunder and in certain cases even murder. In the majority of cases the attacks were committed by Neo-Nazi skinheads but in some of the documented cases of plunder real or disguised policemen had been involved. In most of the cases, the victims, having invalid documents had not contacted the police, at all (14).

No additional information on the treatment of Arabs in Bulgaria by the police and by society, nor information on the availability of state protection available to Arabs who are victimized by hooligans, could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Human Rights in Bulgaria in 1994. 8 March 1995. Sofia: Bulgarian Helsinki Committee.

Additional Sources Consulted

Bulgaria: Shooting Deaths in Custody, Torture and Ill-Treatment. June 1996. Amnesty International.

Bulgaria: Turning a Blind Eye to Racism. September 1994. Amnesty International.

Electronic sources: IRB databases, Internet, NEXIS/LEXIS, REFWORLD, WNC.

Human Rights and Democratization in Bulgaria. September 1993. CSCE.

Human Rights in Bulgaria in 1993. November 1993. Bulgarian Helsinki Committee.

Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs [Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK.]. April 1997 - October 1998.

Minority Groups in Bulgaria in a Human Rights Context. October 1994. Committee for the Defence of Minority Rights.

Nationalities Papers [Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK.]. March 1997 - March 1999.

Resource Centre country file on Bulgaria. January 1997 - May 1999.

No references to a judo tournament in San Francisco in December 1998 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Sources Consulted

Electronic sources: NEXIS/LEXIS.

Internet sites:

http://coyote.rain.org/~ssa/judores.htm (Judo Tournament Results)

http://www.csprings.com/usja (US Judo Association)

http://www.usjf.com (US Judo Federation)

http://www1.tip.nlat034559/calendar00.html (Judo Tournament Calendar)

http://www.usjudo.org

Two oral sources contacted did not provide information on the requested topic.

Unsuccessful attempts to contact other oral sources.