site.btaInterior Minister Condemns Attack on Ruse Police Chief as Assault on State

Interior Minister Daniel Mitov said here on Thursday that the attack on Senior Commissioner Nikolay Kozhuharov, chief of the Ruse Regional Police Directorate, would be considered an attack against the state in any democracy. Mitov visited the city on the Danube together with Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Chief Commissioner Miroslav Rashkov.

Earlier on Thursday, Ruse Mayor Pencho Milkov said in a Facebook post that Kozhuharov is in critical condition in hospital after having been brutally attacked on Wednesday night, following a confrontation with a group of men allegedly drifting their cars recklessly.

Four suspects have been detained in connection with the attack, three aged 19 and one aged 15, said Deputy Director of the Ruse Regional Police Directorate, Commissioner Aleksandar Kovachev.

Mitov said that the attack was against an institution tasked with ensuring the rule of law in Bulgaria. “In any democracy, an attack on a police officer is treated as an attack against the state. Such acts will be prosecuted with the harshest possible penalties,” he added. The incident reflects the erosion of respect for the Bulgarian state, Mitov stated.

Mitov and Rashkov visited Kanev University Hospital, where Kozhuharov is being treated for polytrauma. He underwent life-saving and organ-preserving surgery after losing more than 1.5 litres of blood. Hospital officials reported that his condition has improved in intensive care. He requires pulmonary and hemodynamic stabilization.