Lawyer Denitsa Lyubenova with the team and volunteers of "Action"
The Indomitable
Pavel Antonov
Originally published in Bulgarian at Bluelink.net
Human rights lawyer Denitsa Lyubenova on the resistance against the “hate law” in the summer of 2024, live, on the internet, and in the media.
The time when minorities had no rights and schools were filled with ideological propaganda against them was not so long ago that we can forget it.
The time when minorities were deprived of their rights and ideological propaganda against them was poured out in schools is not so long ago that we can forget it. If those in power today fail to return Bulgaria to that dark time, the credit will go to those who protest! In this story – against the attempt to crush science and knowledge about different gender identities, and even their very mention in Bulgarian school education. Among them are Denitsa Lyubenova and “Action” – a human rights organization with a mission to contribute to sustainable change in the lives of LGBTIQ+ people in Bulgaria.
On August 7, 2024, the National Assembly undertook to ban “propaganda” in schools about “non-traditional sexual orientation.” Daniel Prodanov, a member of parliament from the “Vazrazhdane” party, introduced such changes to the Law on School and Preschool Education. They were quickly passed by parliamentary committees, even though there is no evidence of such “propaganda,” whatever that may mean.
“We sent a statement to all members of parliament via the electronic delivery system that morning; there was nothing else we could do!” recalls Denitsa Lyubenova, a lawyer specializing in cases related to the rights of gay couples in Bulgaria and an active organizer of Sofia Pride. With the youth LGBT organization Action, which she leads, she continues to resist the new legislation, known as the “hate law.”
With the support of GERB, DPS-Peevski, BSP, “There is such a people” (ITN) and independent MPs, the draconian proposals were adopted by the National Assembly in two readings on the same day. The first banned actions related to “Propaganda, promotion, or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, of ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity different from biological gender. The second introduced a definition of the term “non-traditional sexual orientation,” heavily borrowed from Wikipedia. It covers: “concepts of emotional, romantic, sexual, or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes that differ from those generally accepted and enshrined in Bulgarian legal tradition.”
In addition to apparent unanimity, the legislative pace, so rare in the Bulgarian parliament, demonstrates a clear desire to avoid a reaction from EU institutions and the majority of Bulgarian citizens who support their country’s European values.
Protest!
And yet they reacted! “Action,” “LevFem,” “Feminist Library,” “Feminist Mobilizations,” BFW, Bulgarian Fund for Women (BFW), The Orion Grid, and many other organizations, collectives, and individuals rose up in defense of minority rights, individual freedoms, and European values. Their call immediately echoed on social media and in the few media outlets still sensitive to attacks on the rights of sexual minorities.
On the same day, a demonstration under the slogan “Schools for everyone! Stop the hate law!” gathered hundreds of people at Independence Square in Sofia, right next to the National Assembly (banner for the second day of the protest from LevFem above). All of them heard and confirmed the arguments with which leading non-governmental and international organizations, as well as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty, condemned the “hate law.” According to them, it contradicts the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria; the Protection Against Discrimination Act; a number of European Union (EU) legal norms; the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as other international agreements and treaties to which Bulgaria is a party.
After the law was passed in a flash, the protesters had one last chance to stop the hate law: “The only thing we could do was ask the president to veto it,” says Lyubenova. They didn’t have particularly high hopes for Rumen Radev. Although elected on a progressive left-wing political platform, the current president has repeatedly shown a conservative pro-Russian stance, and the law in question is heavily inspired by the Kremlin, Lyubenova comments. But they had to try!
Active on the Internet
Two non-governmental organizations, Action and Buditelkite, urgently initiated an open letter urging Rumen Radev to veto the adopted law. They used a simple Google form to gather support.
“To be honest, we didn’t have time to choose which tool and which platform would be best to use, as we were pressed for time before the president could veto and sign the law,” explains Lyubenova. According to her, the organizers preferred to work with platforms they were familiar with, where they could easily create Excel spreadsheets, and where everything was GDPR-compliant.
In its work, Action uses social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube. For internal communications, they use a MailOut mailing list. They also have a group of external recipients with whom they communicate on a monthly basis through the organization’s website.
The organization maintains a video podcast (screenshot above) and broadcasts video and audio produced by an external operator because “we don’t have the capacity to do it ourselves,” Lyubenova admits.
But her attitude toward digital channels is not uncritical: “We would be very happy not to have to use Meta because of everything that is happening in the US right now.
One of the platforms for urgent signature collection is “RavniBG.” The civil association, of which “Action” is a member, connects 37 civil organizations working to protect democracy, human rights, vulnerable groups, sustainable development, advocacy, and other causes. “We decided that by setting a deadline and without any objections, the petition could be signed by ‘RavniBG’ on behalf of all member organizations,” said the coordinator of the association, Alexandra Kamburova from the Bulgarian Women’s Fund (BWF).
“RavniBG is a wonderful coalition that plays an essential role in finding common ground between organizations in Bulgaria and trying to explain that they all face the same problem—what can happen to one can happen to all the others,” commented Denitsa Lyubenova.
The media – a key ally
In four days, the appeal to President Radev to stop the “hate law” was supported by 76 non-governmental organizations, and the petition was signed by 7,038 people. On Monday, August 11, 2024, human rights activists symbolically submitted the signatures on paper to the president’s office.
There they were met by journalists. More than 30 journalists, including teams from the three national television channels, covered the submission of the petition.
“The media was positive towards us and the issue we raised throughout the whole time: there was a lot of interest and quite good coverage,” says Lyubenova. And this is no exception!
According to her observations, in the last five years, the efforts of Action have never received negative media coverage. “We have not been subjected to media silence and isolation, on the contrary: when we were conducting the Pancharevo case, and when the ECHR ruled on Koilova and Babulkova v. Bulgaria on the recognition of marriages contracted abroad, and in other cases, we received even wider and more positive coverage,” says the lawyer. This observation contrasts somewhat with the often negative assessments and expectations of the media environment in Bulgaria.
After the first protest in front of the National Assembly and the submission of the petition, the LGBTI community continued to protest, demanding that the president veto the “hate law.” Rumen Radev did not respond and signed the law on August 15, 2024.
Civic awakening
“I am not the most optimistic person,” admits Denitsa Lyubenova. This is not surprising for someone who monitors processes of disenfranchisement through legislative proposals in Bulgaria and advocates against them before national and international institutions. “What I observe is that nothing works anymore: pressure from outside, from inside, from international institutions, from society,” she shares.
But she is not giving up! She sees the powerful reaction to the letter to the president as the beginning of a civic awakening. “What we all need to understand as a society is that this is not just a question of LGBT rights. The Bulgarian state is slowly but surely moving towards trampling on the principles of democracy,” warns Lyubenova. She declares: “If we don’t realize this as a society, the fate that befalls LGBT people and Roma will befall us all. It’s good to think about these processes because at some point they become irreversible.”
“Action” started in 2010 as an informal collective (one of their actions is shown in the photo below). It was registered in 2012. Denitsa Lyubenova joined after returning to Bulgaria in 2015. Before that, she had graduated in international public law in the Netherlands. She decided to put what she had learned into practice.
“I am well acquainted with international human rights law instruments and I thought it would be great if I could prove that the lack of legal protection for LGBT people is a deliberate state policy,” says the lawyer. Here is the story in her own words:
“It was a kind of hunch I had—coming from the scientific community here, where at that time there was absolutely nothing. Little by little, I started searching on my own and pushing for the organization to deal with legal issues. Things developed quite quickly and widely because there was obviously – and still is – a huge need for clarification of rights. Of how we can seek opportunities to defend our rights.”
“The other big issue for the organisation at that time was the change in legislation. We came to the conclusion that the only way to change the legal framework, in the absence of willingness on the part of the legislature, is through pressure from international institutions. And this can only be done when we propose changes that prevent legally enshrined discrimination against the LGBT community. This can only be achieved by pursuing so-called strategic litigation.
“Slowly, over the years, we have been exposing cases of appalling legislative decisions that result in discrimination and disenfranchisement of LGBTI people. Based on this practice over the last 10 years, at the end of 2024, Assoc. Prof. Deyana Marcheva from NBU published a collection entitled “The Disenfranchisement and Dehumanization of LGBTIQ+ People in Bulgaria.”
Denitsa Lyubenova, pictured, in March 2025 as legal representative before the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Shipov case, involving a Bulgarian trans woman living in Italy who has been repeatedly denied legal recognition of her gender by Bulgarian courts. The case is a decisive step in the protection of trans people in Europe, many of whom are still denied any legal recognition of their gender identity in some EU countries. The case is a decisive step in the protection of trans people in Europe, many of whom are still denied any legal recognition of their gender identity in some EU countries, including Bulgaria.
Support
Seek legal assistance or report an incident at https://www.deystvie.org/lp-intro
Follow the website and Facebook page of the LGBT organization “Action” for the latest news, as well as that of Feminist Mobilizations for upcoming protests.
Buy gifts and items from the online store of “Action” at https://www.deystvie.org/shop
Join “Action.” Membership can be associate (10 euros per month) or full (25 euros per month).
Support the LGBTI Action association with a donation to their bank account IBAN: BG20UNCR70001523122810 or by card via PayPal.
The BlueLink civil action network tells 7 stories about initiatives by members of Ravni BG, focusing on the strategic use of information technologies. Ravni BG brings together 37 civil society organizations working in areas such as human rights protection, vulnerable groups, sustainable development, the rule of law, and advocacy. The project is implemented with the support of the Solidarity Fund of Ravni BG.
Published within the framework of “Ravni BG,” with financial support from the Solidarity Fund of “Ravni BG,” the funds for which have been provided to the Bulgarian Fund for Women (BFW) under the Strong and Resilient Civil Society in Europe program of the European philanthropic initiative for democracy and solidarity Civitates of the Network of European Foundations.
More digital stories from BlueLink.net about “Ravni BG”:
DigiComs: Gateway to Civil Society
Brave hearts: People with disabilities are changing the face of volunteering
Truth before lies: How Factcheck.bg fights misinformation
Power in pictures: Young people against violence
Help Where It Counts: Lessons from Mission Wings’ Mobile Team
