Bulgaria’s authorities took steps to prosecute and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but government actions were insufficient, and impunity was a problem, reads Bulgaria 2020 Human Rights Report of the U.S. Department of State.

Significant human rights issues included: violent treatment by Police; arbitrary arrests; serious problems with judicial independence; serious restrictions on free expression, including media censorship, violence and threats of violence against journalists and corporate and political pressure on media; serious acts of corruption; crimes involving violence and threats of violence against Roma; violence against children, etc.

The constitution and law provide for freedom of expression, including for the press, and the government generally respects this right, the report further reads.