Even when the perpetrator mistakes a victim as having a characteristic towards which the perpetrator has a bias, such an offense could still be considered to be a hate crime but only in limited situations and this depends on the specific wording of the offense.
For example, the mistakes in perception in the crimes homicide and bodily injury if the crime is committed based on racist or xenophobic motives are irrelevant. In other cases (like usage of violence or damaging someone’s property because of their race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or political views) the court may decide that the victim should possess the pointed characteristic otherwise the offense is does not fall under the provisions of the Criminal Code.
example A woman was attacked on the street by a perpetrator because she has dark skin and the perpetrator mistaken her for Roma but she was actually Bulgarian. The perpetrator was motivated by the idea that the woman was a Roma, although she was Bulgarian with darker skin.
It should be kept in mind that such crimes are not generally aimed at specific victims on a personal basis, but rather the whole community possessing a common characteristic. Hate crimes are committed as a way of sending a message to not only the victim, but also to the larger community to which that victim belongs. Thus, even when the perpetrator mistakenly chooses a victim who does not possess the characteristic in question, the offense is more serious than an offense without a biased motive.