If you believe that your human rights have been violated, you have the right to complain about such a violation. This is important to stop an ongoing violation, prevent future violations or to get compensation.
You should complain locally first – to the Bulgarian authorities and courts. International and European institutions will not accept your claim if you have not first tried to complain to the local institutions. You can only go to international and European institutions if you think that the violation of your rights have not been remedied by Bulgarian institutions.
General complaints
Prison staff and the head of your prison are responsible for the maintenance of good conditions and order at the prison. They are supervised by an institution called the Directorate General “Execution of Punishments” and by the Ministry of Justice . Therefore, you can generally submit all complaints about the prison staff or fellow inmates to the head of the prison, to the Directorate General “Execution of Punishments” or to the Minister of Justice. Complaints can be submitted also to the prosecutor, who is authorized to inspect prisons. Read more about the general complaints procedure.
Specific complaints
In some situations you have to submit your complaint to special institutions created for dealing with a specific type of claim, such as the investigation of crimes or act of discrimination. Read more about these exceptions.
Read about different complaint procedures: