site.btaVarna Residents Protest Mayor Kotsev’s Arrest as City Celebrates Its Holiday

On Varna Day, August 15, residents of the Black Sea city yet again took to the streets to protest the arrest of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev and two municipal councillors from Democratic Bulgaria - Continue the Change. This time, protesters gathered outside a restaurant believed to be owned by Plamenka Dimitrova, a businesswoman who testified against Kotsev. Dimitrova is facing a lawsuit in the Varna Regional Court, filed by Continue the Change chairperson Assen Vassilev for non-pecuniary damages caused by false, defamatory, offensive, and incriminating statements.

Protesters held up placards demanding freedom for Varna and the mayor and called for justice and Kotsev's release.

Kotsev was arrested on July 8. That same day, the prosecution service said that the counter-corruption commission had launched a raid in Varna under the supervision of the Sofia City Prosecution Office (SCPO). The following day, the SCPO announced that four people had been charged and detained for 72 hours as part of a corruption investigation in Varna.

On July 18, the Sofia Appellate Court ruled that Kotsev would remain in custody.

Several protests have taken place since the detention, the most recent being on July 27, when demonstrators briefly blocked several major intersections in the city during a march.