Videos of youngsters assaulting young LGBT people in plain sight of police in Plovdiv – a former European Capital of Culture – are a worrying reminder of Bulgaria’s failure to tackle this social ill. Videos and witness reports show that a few days ago, in the very centre of Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second city, groups of teenagers attacked other youngsters of the same age based on their appearance and suspected homosexuality. The assaults on Sunday, September 27, which included people aged as young as 14 and 15, was, according to media reports and accounts by victims, coordinated by a radicalised group of youngsters who decided to “cleanse” the city centre of people who looked like they were in the LGBT spectrum. Several girls were also physically abused, one just because she had a short haircut. Police intervened, but too late, according to comments on social media. The case has attracted the attention of the local prosecution who have vowed to investigate. But no comment has come from Plovdiv’s mayor or from government officials. According to Bulgarian National Television, there is a lead that the gang is connected to one of the two main football clubs in town, which would be “Lokomotiv” or “Botev”. Prosecutor Atanas Iliev from Plovdiv told BIRN that the boys are part of Botev’s fan base, the so-called “bultras”, and the people they attacked identify as LGBT. “We’ve only been investigating the case for 24 hours so we’re short of new details; however, what we’re focused on currently is engaging other institutions, because this concerns people who are underage,” Iliev, a spokesperson for Plovdiv’s Prosecution, said. He confirmed that both the aggressors and the victims were between the ages of 14 and 16.
via balkan insight: Plovdiv Attacks Highlight Bulgaria’s Unsolved Homophobia Problem