80 transgender people were killed in Brazil in emergency epidemic situation introduced the first half of 2021 alone. In addition, during the Covid-19 pandemic, originally physical attacks, threats, discrimination and declared by the government in May 2020, social marginalization fuelled a cycle of remained in place throughout the year, violence that prevented LGBTI people from granting the government extensive powers. enjoying their rights in safety. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION WOMEN’S RIGHTS Media freedom continued to deteriorate, and Brazil accounted for 75% of maternal deaths journalists and independent media outlets due to Covid-19 worldwide. According to the who investigated crime and corruption faced Covid-19 Obstetric Observatory, as of May, frequent threats and smear campaigns, maternal deaths of Black women were 77% including by public officials. higher compared to those of white women. In April, Dimitar Stoyanov, an investigative According to the Brazilian Public Security journalist with the Bivol news portal, reported Forum, the number of rapes in the first six receiving death threats from a businessman months of 2021 was 8.3% higher than in the he contacted for an interview about a same period in 2020. Between January and corruption case in which he was allegedly June 2021, 666 women were the victims of implicated. The Prosecutor’s Office in Sofia femicide, the highest number since records failed to investigate Dimitar Stoyanov’s began in 2017. complaint and the police issued a notice of warning instructing him to stop 1. “Brazil: 1,000 days of Bolsonaro and Brazil’s grave human rights communicating with the businessman. In April, during a television programme, crisis”, 20 October 2. Brazil: Lack of Oxygen to Treat Patients in Manaus (Index: AMR member of parliament Toshko Yordanov 19/3539/2021), 15 January joked about cutting off a journalist’s limbs for “lying” after the journalist unintentionally mixed up the names of two political parties BULGARIA during a live show. In May, minister of the interior Boyko Rashkov questioned the Republic of Bulgaria journalistic integrity of two television hosts Head of state: Rumen Radev who interviewed him and suggested they Head of government: Kiril Petkov (replaced Stefan should be removed from their posts. Neither Yanev in December, who replaced Boyko Borisov in official faced parliamentary sanctions. May) The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the already precarious working conditions of Media freedom further deteriorated as media workers, resulting in salary cuts, journalists were subjected to threats and delayed payments and the undermining of intimidation. Migrants and asylum seekers editorial independence. The government faced pushbacks. Domestic violence reduced funding to several public media increased. LGBTI people were targeted by outlets and the Council for Electronic Media, groups hostile to minority rights. Roma the country’s media regulator. faced widespread discrimination. There was In its Rule of Law Report in July, the systemic ill-treatment of residents in social European Commission highlighted the lack of care institutions. transparency, the concentration of media BACKGROUND ownership and continued political interference in the editorial policy of some Bulgaria’s third parliamentary elections of the outlets. Bulgaria was downgraded from 111th year took place in November as no party was to 112th out of 180 countries on the World able to form a government following previous Press Freedom Index and remained the EU snap elections in April and July. The Amnesty International Report 2021/22 104