site.btaPleven Residents Rally to Demand Justice for 12-Year-Old Car Accident Victim

Pleven residents protested Monday for justice in the case over a high-profile car accident that killed 12-year-old Siyana Popova on March 31, 2025. The protesters gathered in front of the city's courthouse before the seventh court hearing in the case was opened.

Protesters briefly blocked the intersection in front of the courthouse before the seventh hearing in the criminal case began inside. The defendant is the driver of the cargo truck whose semi-trailer crossed into the oncoming lane while turning, hitting the car in which Siyana and her grandfather were travelling.

The residents came out with demands for justice and an end to the war on the roads. Siyana's father, Nikolay Popov, told those gathered that justice is the biggest deficit in Bulgarian society. "They cannot take the lives of our children, our loved ones, and then try to steal the only right they have left, namely the right to justice", he stressed.

The auto technical expertise is fake, emphasized Popov, adding that it does not reflect the actual facts of the case. He promised to fight to stop roadkillings, to align the judicial system with the legal order and the rule of law, and to ensure citizens' access to their basic right to justice.

The hearing will resume on Tuesday, February 17.