Bulgaria: Information on an attack on the Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God on 10 June 1994, on police involvement and actions taken by the police against participants, and whether the Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God is legally registered today
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 September 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | BGR24950.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Bulgaria: Information on an attack on the Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God on 10 June 1994, on police involvement and actions taken by the police against participants, and whether the Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God is legally registered today, 1 September 1996, BGR24950.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac461c.html [accessed 7 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Please note that Europa 1995 includes in its list of Protestant churches in Bulgaria both the Bulgarian Church of God, which had 30,000 adherents in 1992, and the Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God, which had 300 adherents in1992 (1995, 661).
According to the July-September 1994 issue of Obektiv: Newsletter of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, a group of "hoodlums" attacked the Bulgarian Church of God in the northeastern city of Rousse during the evening of 10 June 1994 (12). Seven persons were reportedly injured and one beaten (ibid.). The police began an investigation into the attack, but as of August 1994 no investigation results were available (ibid.). Subsequent to the attack, 35,000 signatures were collected from across Bulgaria for a petition in support of the Bulgarian Church of God (ibid.; Christianity Today 14 Nov. 1994).
Country Reports 1994 also documents the June 1994 attack on the Bulgarian Church of God (1995, 768). The report refers to the attackers as "skinheads," and states that eight people were seriously injured (ibid.).No further references to police involvement in the 10 June 1994 attack were found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
An official of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Washington, DC, provided the following information during a 26 September 1996 telephone interview. The official stated that as of January 1996 there were 30 churches of different denominations legally registered in Bulgaria, 21 of which are Protestant. In addition, as of January 1996 there were over 30 evangelical associations and foundations legally registered in Bulgaria. The official was unable to state with authority whether the Bulgarian Church of God or the Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God are legally registered in Bulgaria today, although she was almost certain that they are. If they had applied for registration within the country, she clarified, they certainly would have obtained it.
Further information on the Bulgarian Church of God is contained in the attached Christianity Today articles.
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
Christianity Today [Belmont, CA]. 14 November 1994. Vol. 38, No. 13. Thomas J. Giles. "A Short Season of Religious Freedom May be Ending: Protestants Resist New Restrictions; Bulgaria." (NEXIS)
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria, Washington, DC. 26 September 1996. Telephone interview with official.
Obektiv: Newsletter of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee [Sofia]. July-September 1994. "Violations of Religious Rights: June-September."
Attachments
Christianity Today [Belmont, CA]. 11 September 1995. Vol. 39, No. 10. Janis Long Harris. "Ambassadors to the Gypsies: One Church's Vision to Reach Bulgaria's Poorest Evangelist Pavel Ignatov's Church of God." (NEXIS)
_____. 14 November 1994. Vol. 38, No. 13. Thomas J. Giles. "A Short Season of Religious Freedom May be Ending: Protestants Resist New Restrictions; Bulgaria." (NEXIS)
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, p. 768.
Obektiv: Newsletter of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee [Sofia]. July-September 1994. "Violations of Religious Rights: June-September," p. 12.
