BTA :: Authorities Seal Off MRF - Central Council HQ in Sofia to Enforce Party's Eviction

Authorities Seal Off MRF - Central Council HQ in Sofia to Enforce Party's Eviction

Dimitrina Solakova, Nikolay Trifonov, Nelly Zheleva, Borislava Bibinovska

The sealed-off entrance of the MRF Central Council at 45A Alexander Stamboliiski Blvd in Sofia, May 19, 2025 (BTA Photo/Milena Stoykova)

Sofia,

19.05.2025 20:28

(BTA)

Employees of the regional government sealed off Monday the headquarters of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) - Central Council at 45A Alexander Stamboliiski Blvd in Sofia. This happened after they entered the building earlier in the day.

Lyubomir Borisov, a representative of the regional government, told journalists that he was carrying out the order of Regional Governor Stefan Arsov. The order says that the MRF, represented by Delyan Peevski and Dzhevdet Chakarov, should be evicted from the building, which is the party’s historic headquarters. Under Arsov’s order, this private state property had to be vacated by May 16, which did not happen, and now the eviction was enforced by the authorities.

Peevski and Chakarov were the two chairmen of the MRF until it split in July 2024 into two factions, one loyal to MRF founder and honorary chairman Ahmed Dogan and another led by Peevski. In November 2024, a property at 23 Vrabcha St was allocated to Peevski’s faction, MRF - New Beginning, after three public institutions moved out. The other faction, Chakarov’s Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DRF), said on May 16 that the current eviction from Stamboliiski Blvd is an act of "unprecedented political repression."

DRF deputy floor leader Dzheyhan Ibryamov told journalists Monday that on May 16, DRF representatives were at the Regional Governor's office, and they thought the issue was settled. “We asked in good faith that state institutions should not be, as we put it, a mother for some and a stepmother for others. We are a political organization, we need a building,” Ibryamov added. He explained that the headquarters houses an archive, working premises, reception halls, a MEP’s office, as well as the offices of the DRF’s youth organisation and two foundations.

“Our request to the Governor is to give us a few days to remove all the property packed in boxes. Unfortunately, we are witnessing yet another state institution being used to repress the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and the DRF as a parliamentary group,” the lawmaker also said.

The MP confirmed that he had had a conversation with Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov on the case, and that he has been trying to contact Zhelyazkov again.

Ibryamov expressed hope the formation will be allowed to keep the building. “We wrote to the Council of Ministers saying that this building historically belongs to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms," he said, adding that his formation will seek their rights before the European Court of Justice.

Asked if the seizure of the building was linked to the withdrawal of support for the Government, Ibryamov said, "I leave it to you and to Bulgarian society to decide whether there is such a correlation."

/DS/