site.btaChief Commissioner Zlatanov Will Not Take Office as Acting Border Police Director

Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, who earlier on Friday was reassigned as acting Director of the General Directorate of Border Police (GDBP), will not take office for personal reasons, the Interior Ministry said.

"Chief Commissioner Zlatanov does not think that he could discharge his duties in the absence of complete public trust. He realizes the responsibility of a GDBP director considering Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area and all responsible tasks facing the Directorate and believes that the head of the entity should enjoy complete public trust," the press release reads.

"Anton Zlatanov remains part of the Interior Ministry system in his previous position. The leadership of the Ministry will continue to rely on his expert experience and professionalism," the Ministry said.

www.dnevnik.bg recalled that, in his previous capacity as Director of the Metropolitan Directorate of the Interior, Zlatanov was in charge of the law enforcers who guarded institutions against anti-government protests in 2020, when cases of police brutality were reported. On numerous occasions he tried to take a balanced position, thanking the peaceful protesters.

"All checks conducted over the years have not found that Mr Zlatanov was to blame for the violence during the 2020 protests. During the night in question [July 10, when protesting young people were dragged, beaten, kicked and humiliated by police officers behind the Council of Ministers colonnade], Zlatanov was not on site and did not direct the police actions. He was assigned to organize the effort in the following days precisely in order to prevent a further escalation of tensions," the Interior Ministry specified on Friday.