Update to Response to Information Request BGR25450.E of 12 December 1996, on whether the two-week period mentioned in the BTA News Agency attachment to that Response is accurate, or whether the period is two years as indicated in page 884 of Country Reports 1996 [BGR26705.E]

In a telephone interview on 2 May 1997, the Bulgarian desk officer with the Department of State in Washington provided the following information, which represents the Department's position. Page 884 of Country Reports 1996 correctly states that the instances of violence against women were committed during a two-year period. The 1 August 1996 BTA News Agency incorrectly states a two-week period.

In a telephone interview on 13 May 1997, the chairman of the Bulgarian Helsinki committee in Sofia provided the following information, which represents the chairman's position. Page 884 of Country Reports 1996 correctly states that the instances of violence against women were committed during a two-year period. The 1 August 1996 BTA article incorrectly states a two-week period.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB 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.

References


Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Sofia. 13 May 1997. Telephone interview with the chairman.

Department of State, Washington. 2 May 1997. Telephone interview with the Bulgarian desk officer.

For a reference to an insurance and security firm called Club 777, please consult the fourth to last paragraph of the first page of the 8 March 1996 Reuters attachment. Additional information on Club 777 could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. However, for information on security or protection agencies, please consult the 12 November 1995 Agence France Presse (AFP) attachment and the 9 June 1995 Transition attachment. According to the 12 November 1995 Agence France Presse (AFP) attachment, "Some of the racketeers have acquired legal standing by forming private security agencies which then branch out into insurance, in a new twist to old-fashioned protection rackets." For information on an insurance firm called Zora ins, please consult the 9 August 1996 Transition attachment.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB 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


Agence France Presse (AFP). 12 November 1995. Vesela Sergeva. "Thick Necks' Terrorise Bulgarians." (NEXIS)

Attachments


Agence France Presse (AFP). 12 November 1995. Vesela Sergeva. "'Thick Necks' Terrorise Bulgarians." (NEXIS)

Reuters. 8 March 1996. BC Cycle. "Bulgaria Central Bank Closes Two Banks." (NEXIS)

Transition: Events and Issues in the Former Soviet Union and East-Central and Southeastern Europe. 9 August 1996. Vol. 2, No. 16. Victor Gomez. "An Underworld of Wrestlers in Bulgaria," p. 2.

_____. 9 June 1995. Vol. 1, No. 9. Victor Gomez. "Bulgaria: Wrestling with Organized Crime," p. 25.

Additional Sources Consulted


Amnesty International Report. Yearly.

CSCE Digest [Washington]. Monthly.

DIRB country file on Bulgaria.

DIRB databases.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports.

Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly.

News from Helsinki Watch [New York]. Monthly.

Transition [Prague]. Twice monthly.

Uncaptive Minds [Washington]. Quarterly.

On-line search of media sources.

Unsuccessful attempts to contact oral sources.