site.btaUPDATED Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev Released from Custody

Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev has been released from custody. He was freed Friday from the investigative detention facility here, which is housed within the prison.

On Thursday, the Varna District Court released Kotsev on a BGN 200,000 bail. 

Minutes past midnight after Thursday, Continue the Change announced on the party’s Facebook page that the funds for Kotsev’s bail had been secured. The party added that the fundraising campaigns launched by Filip Bukov and Manol Peykov had collected more than BGN 240,000 in just five hours thanks to over 2,500 donors. 

“I hope that from Monday we will get back into the necessary working rhythm,” Kotsev said in front of the prison gates. He was greeted by the woman he lives with, as well as by close relatives and friends. “My greatest wish right now is to go home and kiss my children,” the Mayor added. In response to questions, he stated that despite everything that has happened, he does not regret entering politics and that he has responsibilities to the people of Varna which he intends to fulfill.

“Many lessons can be learned from what happened,” Kotsev also said. According to him, what matters is that people have seen what can happen to anyone. “We are yet to fully realize what happened and why it happened,” the Mayor emphasized. He reminded reporters that a court case against him is beginning and expressed confidence that during the proceedings the full truth will come to light.

Kotsev had been in custody since his arrest on July 8 in a corruption and office abuse case. He denies any wrongdoing. 

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 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. His case was sent to Sofia as the prosecutors alleged that it involved an MP (in which case the competent court is the Sofia City Court). 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. In November a supreme court sent the case back to Varna. 

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".