site.btaProtest in Support of CC Members Blagomir Kotsev, Nikola Barbutov Held in Downtown Sofia

Citizens gathered for a protest titled “Freedom for the Political Prisoners” in front of the new National Assembly’s building on Thursday evening, rallying against what they described as judicial arbitrariness in the country. The event was organized by the Continue the Change (CC) political party. The protest was prompted by the transfer of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev and former Sofia deputy mayor Nikola Barbutov from the detention facility to prison.

Road traffic in the square known as the “Power Triangle”, where the new National Assembly building is flanked by the Presidency and the Council of Ministers, was halted. There was a strong police presence in the area.

Later on Thursday evening, protesters marched toward the Eagles’ Bridge (Orlov Most) square.

Addressing the crowd, former prime minister and CC member Kiril Petkov said: “Our community is the engine that moves Bulgaria forward. Thanks to them we have a normal state. When I visit Blago and Nikola in detention, they turn on the TV and see the people protesting. I spoke with Blago, he said he will not give up. He is more motivated to govern Varna now than ever before.”

Ina Lulcheva, the lawyer representing Kotsev and Barbutov, told the protesters: “We are all here not because we are brave, but because this is what must be done. Thanks to the fact that we did not stay silent, Kotsev and Barbutov are now in the same cell.” She added that after media reports exposed the poor conditions in both the detention facility and the prison, renovation work had begun.

On Wednesday, Petkov lashed out against the conditions in which Kotsev and Barbutov are currently being held in Sofia prison. Petkov said that one of the detainees has been put in a cell together with a person suffering from Hepatitis B, while the other is kept in a cell at 15°C. He stressed that neither man has been convicted and urged the public to protest what he called an example of injustice.

Background: Here is what to know about the Kotsev case

Elected mayor on the ticket of the opposition Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria in November 2023 - one of very few opposition mayors, including also that of Sofia, Kotsev was arrested on July 8 following a tip-off for corruption by a failed public procurement tenderer. He was charged with participation in an organized criminal group accused of engaging in abuse of office, bribery and money laundering. The court has consistently rejected his applications for release from custody, and accepted the prosecutors' argument that he may interfere while the pre-trial proceedings were going on. The pre-trial proceedings are now over but the prosecutors still refuse to have him released from custody. Kotsev's defence counsel have filed a new release application but it is not clear when the court - and which court - will consider it.

Kotsev's Continue the Change party insist that his arrest is part of a government campaign targeting the opposition. Large-scale protests in his support have been staged in Varna, Sofia and other major cities. The Renew Europe group in the European Parliament where Continue the Change is affiliated, sees Kotsev's extended detention as "an onslaught on democratic institutions and rule of law in Bulgaria".