PROTEST POLICING AS A MEANS OF RESTRICTING FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY DURING THE PANDEMIC IN BULGARIA
PROTEST POLICING AS A MEANS OF RESTRICTING FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY DURING THE PANDEMIC IN BULGARIA

Summary/Abstract: During the coronavirus pandemic, numerous individual rights and freedoms were restricted. Most often, the right to assembly was restricted due to the increased risk of spreading the virus. First, legal regulations introducing total bans on gatherings or periodic bans and determining the number of people who could take part in them. Limitations depended mainly on risk assessment, number of cases and other measurable indicators. However, the restrictions did not stop people from protesting for issues important to them even during the pandemic. In this situation, the security services also had to take measures to limit the citizens' right to assembly. The aim of this study is to analyze the nature of the protests, determine what actions were taken by the security services towards the protesters, and evaluate whether they led to an escalation, silencing, or abandonment of further action on the part of the protesters. This will allow us to answer the question: whether, and if yes, to what extent was protest policing one of the means of restricting the right to assembly? Moreover, what was the nature of the activities of the security services? The analyzed period was July 9, 2020, to April 16, 2021, in Bulgaria due to increased protest of citizens who demanded mainly changes and resignation of the government. In the source analysis, mainly data from ACLED was used.

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