Briton Leon Koffi had only been living in Bulgaria for five months when, in late September, he took an evening stroll with two friends in the capital, Sofia. Koffi knew nothing about Bulgarian football, less still about the hardcore fans of the city’s two main football clubs – Levski Sofia and CSKA – and their post-march marching tradition.
The Sofia downtown is effectively shut off when the two sides meet and fans take to the streets. Residents of the city know not to cross their route, especially if, like Koffi, you are black and accompanied by two Arabs.
It was only when they were already upon him that Koffi realised he was being attacked.
“While I was losing consciousness I could hear them imitating the sound of monkeys. When I woke up, I didn’t know where I was,” the 48-year-old, who came to Bulgaria on an expat contract with a business service company, told BIRN.
Koffi and his lawyers are in little doubt the Briton was attacked by ultras because of the colour of his skin. The public prosecution in Sofia, however, has classified the case under Article 129 of the Criminal Code – ‘inflicting medium bodily injury on another person’.
The crime is punishable by up to six years in prison, but, as in a host of such cases, rights groups say it fails to take into account the racist motivation behind the attack.
“This is the main problem with hate crimes,” said Adela Kachaunova, Director of the Legal Program of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee rights watchdog, whichwill represent Koffi in court.
“For vague reasons, the Prosecutor’s Office refused to properly classify such offenses and thus could not achieve the main purpose of the punishment – to deter the perpetrators, as well as others, from acting in a similar manner,” Kachaunova told BIRN.
“These crimes remain unrecognised and as a result unpunished.”
‘I didn’t even manage to run’
Rights groups say European Union member Bulgaria’s failure to tackle hate crime is fuelling further violence and prejudice against minority groups including asylum seekers, migrants, Muslims and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
A 2015 report by Amnesty International warned that, despite existing legislation, authorities in Bulgaria consistently failed to identify and adequately investigate hate crimes, not do they collect or publish data on such crimes. Little has changed since.
For more read the full of article at The Balkaninsight
