site.btaYes, Bulgaria! Party Strongly Condemns Assault on Ruse Police Chief

Yes, Bulgaria! strongly condemns the vicious assault on Ruse Police Chief Nikolay Kozhuharov, the party wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

"This kind of violence is incompatible with the principles of the rule of law and civil society and undermine public trust and the sense of security and order. Protecting institutions and their representatives is fundamental for the proper functioning of any state governed by the rule of law," the party said. 

Four suspects have been detained in connection with the attack, three aged 19 and one aged 15, Commissioner Aleksandar Kovachev, Deputy Director of the Ruse Regional Police Directorate, said earlier in the day. Svetoslav Velikov, spokesperson for the District Prosecution Office in Ruse, said that pre-trial proceedings had been initiated for two crimes - hooliganism and moderate bodily harm with hooligan motives. The penalties for these crimes are up to five years and two to ten years in prison, respectively. The law provides for a harsher sentence when the victim is a police officer - three to ten years for causing moderate bodily harm.