site.btaVelichie Describes Sofia City Prosecution Office, Anti-Corruption Commission Operation as "Desperate Attempt at Institutional Pressure"

Velichie described Sofia City Prosecution Office and Anti-Corruption Commission's specialized operation related to the establishment and leadership of an organized criminal group around the Historical Park tourist attraction as “a desperate attempt at institutional pressure against the only genuinely functioning opposition force in the country.” In a statement on Wednesday, the parliamentary group argues that the aim of the operation is to divert attention from key decisions in the National Assembly, including the 2026 draft state budget, the nationalization of the Lukoil refinery in Burgas, the granting of a concession to the State Sports Totalizator, and the increase of taxes, fees and social security contributions.

Velichie Floor Leader Ivelin Mihaylov is the founder of Historical Park. Earlier in the day, he said that his home was searched on Wednesday morning. "In the morning, they entered my home and the homes of all the people I know, some of whom had nothing to do with any of this, but they entered there as well, so they could hit everywhere," Mihaylov says in a video posted on his Facebook profile.

The parliamentary group's statement adds that "Bulgaria is witnessing yet another attempt at a crude encroachment on democratic principles and the rule of law in the country". “Up to this moment, the Interior Ministry has not provided official information on the legal grounds of this large-scale operation,” Velichie adds.

“In Mihaylov’s house in the village of Neofit Rilski absolutely nothing was found, but as soon as they entered at 7 a.m., the police officers seized the phone and two laptops of his former wife, who was alone with their ill five-year-old child,” the political formation adds, noting that in this way the family was deprived of the possibility to contact a lawyer or seek urgent medical assistance.

“Such action is in direct contradiction with legal procedures,” the statement reads. Velichie added that in order to search the home of an MP, a special permit from the Chair of the National Assembly is required. “From the office of [National Assembly Chair] Raya Nazaryan it was officially stated to members of the Velichie parliamentary group that no such permit had been issued, nor had the Parliament’s administration been notified,” the position says.

The formation noted that the operation comes a month after Mihaylov publicly revealed to the media that he had been pressured by Anti-Corruption Commission employees to subordinate Velichie to GERB and MRF – New Beginning.