Bulgaria to investigate hundreds of children deaths in orphanages

Bulgaria to investigate hundreds of children deaths in orphanages
Mon, Sep 20 2010 16:01 CET byThe Sofia Echo staff 1199 Views 12 Comments 1 of 1
The plight of Bulgaria's disabled children was highlighted by a BBC documentary on the Mogilino children home in 2007.


Bulgaria's Prosecutor's Office was investigating 166 cases of deaths in children homes over the past decade following a joint probe by prosecutors and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee that uncovered 238 deaths over the period, Prosecutor-General Boris Velchev said on September 20.

"In these cases there is enough to suspect criminal negligence to avoid the deaths. The pre-trial investigations now being started are against unknown perpetrators," Velchev said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

Charges to be pressed could include negligent manslaughter, bodily harm, sexual harassment, mismanagement and corruption, he said. The check showed that several homes for disabled children tied the children down, which is a form of abuse, and found instances in which medication was used to control the children instead as therapy.

Although the sweeping investigation would not solve the problem, it could improve prevention, Velchev said.

"What we can do is dispense retribution and strengthen prevention. We've uncovered troubling things. I cannot imagine that in 10 years, 238 citizens from the most vulnerable part of the society have passed away in this way," Velchev said.

Margarita Ilieva, head of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee legal programme, said: "These children died not of their disabilities, but of things that no one should experience. We are talking about facilities with drastically poor hygiene; 31 of the children died of hunger."

"We do not need retribution and someone going to jail. We need prevention," she said.