site.btaInspections of Homes for Elderly to Continue, Says Labour and Social Policy Minister Gutsanov

Inspections of places for accommodation for the elderly will continue, authorities will be uncompromising, commented Minister of Labour and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov at a press conference in the ministry building when asked about recent cases from the villages of Yagoda and Govedartsi.

"These inspections will continue, they will not be only in Yagoda and Govedartsi, expect more information on the topic. We will be uncompromising," the Minister also said.

Elderly people with their legs tied, under the influence of narcotics, locked in rooms with horrific conditions, without bed linen, window handles removed and without connection to the outside world, were discovered by inspectors from several state institutions in two facilities in the village of Yagoda, Stara Zagora region, during a joint operation. Seventy-five men and women aged 51 to 86 were held in appalling conditions in illegal homes for the elderly, Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev said at a briefing at the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Stara Zagora on Monday.