site.btaSofia Mayor Says He Knew Petrohan Lodge Victims as "Good Men", Condemns “Smear Campaign” against Them

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said that he knew personally the three men found dead near the Petrohan Lodge, that they were "good men" who "had chosen to fight a brutal enemy in an unequal battle" for nature protection, and that a filthy smear campaign is now on against them. A couple of days ago, the bodies of three men were found in a lodge near the Petrohan Pass. The lodge had been set on fire. 

Naming them by their given names - Ivo, Decho, and Plamen, the Sofia Mayor wrote: “All of us who had any contact with them can say the same thing: good, modest people, who chose to fight an unequal and often brutal enemy. What exactly led to the tragedy – none of us knows. But what is happening now is filthy”.

The names of the victims have not been confirmed by the authorities. The authorities said that the investigation is at an early stage and little is known, but speculations have gone wild about what the three men were engaged with, a non-governmental organization they allegedly belong to, possible connections to trafficking of drugs or migrants, a pedophile ring, a sect, etc. Some have been ushered by the authorities. 

Allegations are that the three dead men belonged to an NGO called National Agency for Control in Protected Territories but the authorities have not confirmed that either.

Terziev says that he supported their cause, "because of who they were", and that it hurts him for what happened to them. “I see what is being written today—claims about paramilitaries, sects, human trafficking networks, and conspiracies. This is a textbook example of how, using KGB-style methods, a narrative is manufactured within 24 hours and then pinned on me: starting with an anonymous social media profile, moving through a convenient mouthpiece in the tabloid press, and ending up on national broadcast media,” the mayor wrote. 

The mayor says that instead of asking the real questions, a convenient culprit is being sought. "Is anyone asking why life returned to the mountain? Why deer, wolves, and bears appeared again? Is this a coincidence - or the result of years of daily efforts against poachers who slaughter 10–15 animals in one go - for pleasure, Terziev added. He asks whether it is a coincidence that the illegal loggers disappeared from the area. He also says that the three men vowed to protect a 200–300-year-old beech forest "that the local feudal lords and the MRF structures had openly sworn to clear”.

"MRF" is the Movement for Rights and Freedoms political party, which over a year ago split into MRF-New Beginning and Alliance for Rights and Freedoms. 

Terziev further says that the three men had helped Border Police combat migrant smuggling routes.

He insists that the organization carried out its activities with permission from the Ministry of Environment and Water and within the law.

He goes on to offer an account of how he helped the organization. “I helped them openly, along with many other people. I donated money to them via bank transfer for electric motorbikes so they could move quietly, so poachers would not hear them and animals would not be disturbed during patrols. Their goal was to show, through modern technologies and approaches, how a small number of well-prepared people can effectively protect a large territory."

He said he would not have donated if he had even the slightest concern and added that he does not regret it for a moment.

“These were people who did not just protect nature – they knew it in depth. They were among the best cavers in Bulgaria. And among the best cave divers in the world,” Terziev said. He added that they were people with exceptional training, discipline, and respect for life – "above and below ground".

"Any information supporting all terrible accusations [against the men], must be presented with facts by the investigating authorities. Everything else is slander – especially when directed at people who can no longer say a word in their own defence. And we, as a society, must not be blind to what is happening in our mountains – ruthless logging, disappearing wildlife, people smuggling routes turned into highways. And we must not allow anyone to smear the dead," Mayor Terziev wrote.