site.btaVarna Residents Protest Again, Demand Release of Mayor and Councillors from Custody

Residents of Varna took to the streets again on Tuesday evening, demanding the release of Mayor Blagomir Kotsev and municipal councillors Nikolay Stefanov and Yordan Kateliev from custody. Protesters carried placards expressing their discontent with those in power and with the way justice is administered in Bulgaria.

“In 2025, there cannot be political prisoners in Bulgaria,” said former prime minister and co-founder of Continue the Change Kiril Petkov, who joined the protest. According to him, the motion submitted by Kotsev’s lawyers for a review of his detention is being withheld by the prosecution, which has failed to forward it to the court despite being legally obliged to do so.

“We are heading towards creeping dictatorship,” Petkov warned, adding that while Kotsev and the two councillors remain behind bars, the court has released on bail of BGN 50,000 a person described as a major smuggler. For a second month, a democratically elected mayor of one of the country’s largest cities remains in custody under strict regime, allowed only one hour of direct sunlight per day, Petkov noted. He claimed that GERB leader Boyko Borissov and Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) - New beginning leader Delyan Peevski are behind the situation, adding that “this outrage carries a political price.”

Protests will continue, Petkov said. According to him, another one will take place in Sofia on Wednesday, followed by another rally in Varna. “This government must go, and we must head to elections,” the former prime minister added. In his words, it is time for free Bulgarians to come out and say “enough is enough.” Since the prosecution and institutions cannot be relied upon, all Bulgarians must take to the streets, Petkov urged.

Petkov’s position was supported by all those present at the protest, who chanted “Freedom.” Acting Varna Mayor Pavel Popov stressed that the people of Varna will not allow early local elections to be held in the city.

Blagomir Kotsev was detained on July 8. At the time, the prosecution service announced that the anti-corruption commission was conducting a raid in Varna under the supervision of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office. The following day, the Sofia City Prosecution Office announced that four people had been charged and detained for 72 hours in connection with a corruption investigation in Varna.

On July 11, the Sofia City Court began examining the detention measures of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, councillors Yordan Kateliev and Nikolay Stefanov, and businessman Ivaylo Marinov. Hours later, the court ruled to keep all four in custody. On July 18, the Sofia Appellate Court upheld the decision, leaving Kotsev and the two councillors in custody. The court released businessman Ivaylo Marinov on his own recognizance, citing insufficient evidence linking him to the other three.

Several protests have been held in Varna against the detention of the four. The latest took place on August 15, Varna’s holiday.