Bulgaria’s equality body ordered the removal of a series of Facebook posts by Revival leader Kostadin Kostadinov targeting his Jewish political opponent Daniel Lorer of We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB), according to Euractiv.
In 2022 and 2023, Kostadinov targeted Lorer in a series of Facebook posts. In response, Lorer filed a lawsuit against Kostadinov with Bulgaria’s equality body and the Commission for Protection against Discrimination. He is represented by the human rights organisation Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC). The Anti-Discrimination Commission stated:
Freedom of speech does not mean the uncritical and arbitrary use of the wide platform of social networks to discredit opponents by insulting them on a personal level. Kostadinov has caused the creation of an environment provoking an unpleasant feeling of hostility, rejection and hatred towards Daniel Lorer.
The Facebook posts led Kostadinov’s followers to threaten and call for violence against Lorer on social media, including calls for him “to be sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp.”
The statements by the equality body underlined that the posts were publicly available and were posted on Kostadinov’s official Facebook page, which had almost 320,000 followers. However, Kostadinov defended himself by invoking freedom of political expression, arguing that any offensive remarks were an evaluation of a political opponent.
The Revival party is the third political force in the Bulgarian parliament, having won 13.4% of the votes in the last parliamentary elections. It openly favours the country’s withdrawal from NATO and reconsideration of EU membership. Revival also argues that BRICS membership could represent an alternative to the EU.
