site.btaTrade Union Vice President Kapitanov Released after Detention during Forestry Sector Protest

Vice President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) Todor Kapitanov was released nearly three hours after he was taken for questioning at the detention facility in the village of Trud on Monday.

Kapitanov said the actions against him were an act of pressure and police arbitrariness. He noted that he and his colleagues exercised their legal right to protest, resulting in unprecedented anti-union actions by law enforcement.

He considers this a violation of both Bulgarian and international regulations. "It seems that in Bulgaria, workers' protests for fair wage increases are not welcomed," Kapitanov said.

He presented the media with a detention order, a search record, and a citation for failing to comply with a police directive.

He said he was unaware of the reason for his detention until the last moment, as all protest-related matters had been coordinated with the authorities the previous week.

Earlier on Monday, Aleksandar Markov of the Regional Directorate of the Interior – Plovdiv reported that Kapitanov was not detained but brought in for questioning.

This occurred soon after employees of state forestry and hunting enterprises initiated a protest on the Trakia Motorway.

During a press conference earlier on Monday, President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) Plamen Dimitrov called Kapitanov’s detention an instance of police abuse, noting that all relevant procedures for the protest had been observed.

Dimitrov said he had spoken with Interior Minister Daniel Mitov, who promised Kapitanov would be released immediately and face no charges. Dimitrov described the detention as unjust, said that it would not go unanswered, and reaffirmed that forestry workers would continue their protest, with a new demonstration planned before the Ministry of Agriculture and Food on Tuesday.