THIRD SECTION
CASE OF MEMISHEV AND OTHERS v. BULGARIA
(Applications nos. 49554/21 and 64 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
9 October 2025
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Memishev and Others v. Bulgaria,
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Úna Ní Raifeartaigh, President
Mateja Đurović,
Vasilka Sancin, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 18 September 2025,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
1. The case originated in applications against Bulgaria lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.
2. The applicants were represented by Ms S. Ivanova, a lawyer practising in Sofia.
3. The Bulgarian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.
THE FACTS
4. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
5. The applicants complained under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention of their ineligibility, as convicted prisoners, to vote in legislative elections. They also argued under Article 14 of the Convention that this was also in breach of the prohibition of discrimination.
THE LAW
6. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
7. The applicants complained principally of their ineligibility as convicted prisoners to vote in legislative elections. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.
8. The Court refers to the principles established in its case‑law regarding ineligibility to vote in elections (see, among other authorities, Hirst v. the United Kingdom (no. 2) [GC], no. 74025/01, §§ 56-71, ECHR 2005‑IX; Scoppola v. Italy (no. 3) [GC], no. 126/05, §§ 81-87, 22 May 2012; and Anchugov and Gladkov v. Russia, nos. 11157/04 and 15162/05, §§ 93‑100, 4 July 2013). The essence of these principles, reiterated in all of these key cases, is that when disenfranchisement affects a group of people generally, automatically and indiscriminately, solely on the basis that they are serving a prison sentence, irrespective of the length of the sentence and irrespective of the nature or gravity of their offences and their individual circumstances, it is not compatible with Article 3 of Protocol No. 1.
9. In the leading case of Kulinski and Sabev v. Bulgaria, no. 63849/09, 21 July 2016, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
10. Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints.
11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.
12. The applicants also complained under Article 14 of the Convention. Having regard to the conclusion above under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1, the Court considers that, while this part of the application is admissible, no separate issue arises under Article 14 of the Convention in the circumstances of the present case (compare Hirst (no. 2) [GC], cited above, §§ 87 and 89, and Anchugov and Gladkov, cited above, § 116).
13. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Tingarov and Others v. Bulgaria, no. 42286/21, 10 October 2023), the Court considers that the finding of a violation constitutes sufficient just satisfaction in the present cases.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
Done in English, and notified in writing on 9 October 2025, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Úna Ní Raifeartaigh
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the Convention
(ineligibility of convicted prisoners to vote in legislative elections)
Application no. Date of introduction | Applicant’s name Year of birth
| Type of restriction | Election details | |
49554/21 04/10/2021 | Memish Aliev MEMISHEV 1982
| Impossibility for the applicants, convicted prisoners, to vote in parliamentary elections
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | |
49575/21 04/10/2021 | Georgi Valev VALEV 1958
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49578/21 04/10/2021 | Ramadan Asanov SHERIFOV 1981
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
49586/21 04/10/2021 | Ivan Tsvetanov IVANOV 1983
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49645/21 04/10/2021 | Svetlomir Nikolov NESHKOV 1971
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49646/21 04/10/2021 | Emil Dimitrov MILEV 1965
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49650/21 04/10/2021 | Deniz Syuleymanov AHMEDOV 1989
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49757/21 04/10/2021 | Ivan Stoyanov IVANOV 1965
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49759/21 04/10/2021 | Chernyo Georgiev IVANOV 1976
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49762/21 04/10/2021 | Eduard Dimitrov PAVLOV 1968
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49764/21 04/10/2021 | Georgi Dimitrov DIMITROV 1982
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49765/21 04/10/2021 | Dragomir Tanev MANOLOV 1982
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
49767/21 04/10/2021 | Petar Mitev DEMIREV 1980
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49773/21 04/10/2021 | Yuliyan Lyubomirov ZASHEV 1975
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49790/21 04/10/2021 | Miroslav Sabev SABEV 1966
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
49799/21 04/10/2021 | Dragomir Tanev MANOLOV 1982
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49800/21 04/10/2021 | Miroslav Sabev SABEV 1966
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49801/21 04/10/2021 | Nazam Nazmi AZIZ 1981
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49831/21 04/10/2021 | Daniel Dimitrov DIMITROV 1974
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49837/21 04/10/2021 | Halil Adem HASAN 1973
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
49839/21 04/10/2021 | Ramadan Asanov SHERIFOV 1981
| National parliamentary election, 04/04/2021 | ||
50434/21 04/10/2021 | Memish Aliev MEMISHEV 1982
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5540/22 11/01/2022 | Biser Yavorov MILANOV 1978
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5542/22 11/01/2022 | Emil Georgiev KOSTADINOV 1966
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5544/22 11/01/2022 | Halil Adem HASAN 1973
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5545/22 11/01/2022 | Daniel Dimitrov DIMITROV 1974
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5546/22 11/01/2022 | Deniz Syuleymanov AHMEDOV 1989
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5549/22 11/01/2022 | Ivan Tsvetanov IVANOV 1983
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5551/22 11/01/2022 | Eduard Dimitrov PAVLOV 1968
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5553/22 11/01/2022 | Svetlomir Nikolov NESHKOV 1971
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5555/22 11/01/2022 | Asen Hristov ASENOV 1976
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5681/22 11/01/2022 | Ivan Nikolaev RIBOV 1979
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5682/22 11/01/2022 | Georgi Dimitrov DIMITROV 1982
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5684/22 11/01/2022 | Petar Mitev DEMIREV 1980
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5687/22 11/01/2022 | Nikolay Stefanov PRAVCHEV 1974
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5688/22 11/01/2022 | Tsvetan Georgiev RANGELOV 1961
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5691/22 11/01/2022 | Hristo Atanasov ATANASOV 1959
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5692/22 11/01/2022 | Chernyo Georgiev IVANOV 1976
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5711/22 11/01/2022 | Ivan Stoyanov IVANOV 1965
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
5715/22 11/01/2022 | Krasimir Tsvetkov KAMENOV 1974
| National parliamentary election, 11/07/2021 | ||
26588/22 13/05/2022 | Dragomir Tanev MANOLOV 1982
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
26596/22 13/05/2022 | Encho Kostadinov ENCHEV 1970
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
26598/22 13/05/2022 | Mitko Georgiev HARAKCHIEV 1968
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
26615/22 13/05/2022 | Biser Yavorov MILANOV 1978
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
26618/22 13/05/2022 | Emil Georgiev KOSTADINOV 1966
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
26619/22 13/05/2022 | Yuliyan Lyubomirov ZASHEV 1975
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
26623/22 13/05/2022 | Ivan Tsvetanov IVANOV 1983
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
26626/22 13/05/2022 | Svetlomir Nikolov NESHKOV 1971
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
26635/22 13/05/2022 | Asen Hristov ASENOV 1976
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
26644/22 13/05/2022 | Tsvetan Georgiev RANGELOV 1961
| National parliamentary election, 14/11/2021 | ||
6886/23 30/01/2023 | Dragomir Tanev MANOLOV 1982
| National parliamentary election, 02/10/2022 | ||
6887/23 30/01/2023 | Kosta Rumenov KIROV 1980
| National parliamentary election, 02/10/2022 | ||
6895/23 30/01/2023 | Georgi Dimitrov DIMITROV 1982
| National parliamentary election, 02/10/2022 | ||
6908/23 30/01/2023 | Eduard Dimitrov PAVLOV 1968
| National parliamentary election, 02/10/2022 | ||
6911/23 30/01/2023 | Ivan Tsvetanov IVANOV 1983
| National parliamentary election, 02/10/2022 | ||
6912/23 30/01/2023 | Yuliyan Lyubomirov ZASHEV 1975
| National parliamentary election, 02/10/2022 | ||
6914/23 30/01/2023 | Krasimir Tsvetkov KAMENOV 1974
| National parliamentary election, 02/10/2022 | ||
6920/23 30/01/2023 | Svetlomir Nikolov NESHKOV 1971
| National parliamentary election, 02/10/2022 | ||
30363/23 29/07/2023 | Dragomir Tanev MANOLOV 1982
| National parliamentary election, 02/04/2023 | ||
30369/23 29/07/2023 | Miroslav Sabev SABEV 1966
| National parliamentary election, 02/04/2023 | ||
30370/23 29/07/2023 | Biser Yavorov MILANOV 1978
| National parliamentary election, 02/04/2023 | ||
30373/23 29/07/2023 | Georgi Valev VALEV 1958
| National parliamentary election, 02/04/2023 | ||
30375/23 29/07/2023 | Ivan Nikolaev RIBOV 1979
| National parliamentary election, 02/04/2023 | ||
30383/23 29/07/2023 | Svetlomir Nikolov NESHKOV 1971
| National parliamentary election, 02/04/2023 | ||
30386/23 29/07/2023 | Halil Adem HASAN 1973
| National parliamentary election, 02/04/2023 |