Religion – Weltanschauung – Recht [ RWR ]

The applicant, Petya Dimitrova, is a Bulgarian national who was born in 1967 and lives in Sofia. The case concerns measures taken by the police against Ms Dimitrova on account of her activities in a religious organisation, and the civil proceedings for damages she brought as a consequence.

Ms Dimitrova was a member of an international religious organisation, Word of Life, whose previous status as a non-profit organisation in Bulgaria was revoked in 1994. Following a complaint that the organisation had a negative psychological influence on its followers, the prosecuting authorities ordered the restriction of the right of members to assemble and promote their belief. After that decision, members organised meetings in private homes, including Ms Dimitrova’s flat. In September 1995 the police questioned her, then searched her flat and seized a number of items, including audio tapes, notebooks and books with religious content. In civil proceedings brought by her in December 1995, she was initially awarded compensation for damages and an order was issued for the items seized to be returned. On appeal, only the order for the return of the items was upheld, but her claim for damages was dismissed in a decision eventually upheld in October 2006.

Relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time) of the European Convention on Human Rights, Ms Dimitrova complains that the civil proceedings were not concluded within a reasonable time. She further complains of a breach of her rights under Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience, and religion) of the Convention. Finally, she maintains that she did not have effective remedies at national level in respect of that complaint, in breach of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) in conjunction with Article 9.

Press release ECHR 039 (2015) 04/02/2015