2011 Bulgaria antiziganist protests

The protests started in response to the vehicular homicide of 19-year-old Angel Petrov in Katunitsa. The murder was committed by 55-year-old Simeon Yosifov,[7] who is believed to be a close associate of crime boss Kiril Rashkov.[8] The death of Angel Petrov was preceded by death threats involving a "car accident", which were published in the Bulgarian video-sharing website "vbox7".[9]

Sofia antiziganist protest, 1 Oct 2011
Bulgarian policemen lead a dark-skinned hobby photographer away from the route of the demonstration, to prevent possible beating. White photographers shoot undisturbed.

Protests continued on 1 October in Sofia, with 2000 Bulgarians marching against the Romani and what they viewed to be the "impunity and the corruption" of the political elite in the country.[10]

Volen Siderov, leader of the far-right Ataka party and presidential candidate, spoke to a crowd at the Presidential Palace in Sofia, calling for the death penalty to be reinstated, as well as Romani ghettos to be dismantled.[10] Many of these organized protests were accompanied by ethnic clashes and racist violence against Romani. The protesters shouted racist slogans like "Gypsies into soap" and "Turks under the knife."[11] Many protesters were arrested for public order offenses.[12][13] The news media labelled the protests as anti-Romani Pogroms.[11]

According to the BBC, President Georgy Parvanov called on the protesters for "an end to the language of hatred".[10] Parvanov and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov called a meeting of the national security council to address the issue.

These protests came before the presidential elections on 23 October. Far-right Ataka party leader Volen Siderov tried to capitalise on the tensions and called for the death penalty to be reinstated and for Romani "ghettos" to be dismantled.[14] The United Nations[5] and the OSCE [6] condemned the demonstrations and the violence.

Reuters attributed the protests and civil disturbances to the lack of an effective justice system in the country.[15] Russian media emphasized the ethnic nature of the societal polarizations, expressing the belief that the Roma are indirectly benefiting due to a positive discrimination on the part of law enforcement agents.[16]