administrative detention, often for months longer than the legally prescribed period. Two attempts to irregularly cross the border, whether to enter or leave the country, amounted to a criminal offence. Consequently, migrants and refugees apprehended while trying to leave the country irregularly were prosecuted and jailed, some for longer than a year. Children The practice of the unlawful detention of unaccompanied children persisted. To circumvent the prohibition of detention of unaccompanied minors, migration authorities arbitrarily assigned unaccompanied children to adults who were not related to them. Reception centres had inadequate provisions for unaccompanied children. The authorities routinely failed to provide adequate access to legal representation, translation, health services and education, psychosocial support and a safe and secure environment. Due to the lack of specially designated facilities for children, many unaccompanied children were held with adults and without adequate professional supervision, making them vulnerable to sexual abuse, drug use and trafficking. DISCRIMINATION Xenophobia Human rights organizations highlighted concerns over high levels of xenophobia and intolerance directed at groups including refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, who remained particularly vulnerable to violence and harassment. The government failed to challenge the climate of intolerance and some public officials frequently engaged in discriminatory or xenophobic speech. In April, local and international media aired footage of so-called “voluntary border patrol” groups rounding up and holding captive Iraqi and Afghan migrants attempting to cross the border from Turkey before handing them over to the police. These illegal “citizens’ arrests” were initially widely praised by the authorities and certain sectors of the public. After formal complaints by the Amnesty International Report 2016/17 Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, local police arrested some of the perpetrators and the Ministry of Interior issued statements asking citizens to refrain from apprehending refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants. Roma Social exclusion and widespread discrimination against Roma continued. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern about the continued limited access of Roma children to education, health and adequate housing. Roma remained grossly overrepresented in “special” schools, mental health institutions and juvenile detention centres. The authorities continued to carry out forced evictions without the provision of adequate alternative housing, leaving many families homeless. Muslim women In September, the National Assembly approved a national law that prohibited wearing full-face veils in public places. The law was a part of the package of bills proposed by the Patriotic Front, a member of the ruling coalition, allegedly aimed at preventing what was characterized as radicalization. Other bills, still under consideration at the end of the year, proposed far-reaching measures, including the prohibition of “radical Islam”, a complete ban on foreign funding for all religious denominations and a mandatory use of the Bulgarian language during all religious services. Earlier in the year, several regional centres, such as Pazardzhik, imposed bans on wearing full-face veils in public. Only a few women in Bulgaria wear full-face veils or burkas, but the national ban could impact unfairly on women belonging to the ethnic Turkish and Muslim Roma minorities. COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY In July, the National Assembly quickly passed a new counter-terrorism bill that defined a “terrorist act” vaguely and in excessively broad terms.1 The bill gives the President powers to declare – with approval of the 97