Bulgaria: 60 protesters arrested for demanding Prime Minister’s resignation

On Wednesday night, September 2, 2020, the Bulgarian police arrested more than 60 protesters in front of the Parliament building in Sofia.

The wave of protests against Prime Minister Boiko Borisov has arrived on the 56th and there is no prospect of it abating.

In several other cities in Bulgaria there were similar people taking to the streets, with the slogan of the fight against corruption.

They demanded that both Borisov and Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev resign, claiming the two men were “doing dark business” with powerful domestic giants, according to European newspapers.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev supported the protesters and called on Mr Borisov to resign.

Borisov himself, originally a karate fighter and nightclub bodyguard, said he would resign if there were new elections.

This is not the first time Borisov has resigned and returned to politics.

Born in 1959 when he was young, he studied martial arts and worked as a security guard at a nightclub, then joined the socialist police, serving in a fire department.

According to the website of the Bulgarian government, he advanced in the security profession and obtained a doctorate in “psychological training of operational units” from the Communist Ministry of Public Security. In 1990, he left his teaching position at the Police Training Academy to found a private security company in the security and bodyguard industry.

Your company is a member of the International Association of Personal Protection Agents (IAPPA).

Still, the Bulgarian government website says Boyko Borissov has received many international anti-corruption awards and for contributions to the police industry, including medals from Spain and Russia.

However, an opposition coalition has now raised serious accusations against him, alleging that he had dealings with the mafia, which he denies.

Borisov served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria twice, from 2009 to 2013 and from late 2014 to early 2017.

In 2013, many groups asked to surround the parliament in Sofia, shouting the slogan “mafia, please resign”, demanding that Borisov step down from office.

At the time, the EU leader formally supported the protesters and placed the Bulgarian government on a special watchlist due to the lack of public accounting standards, the corrupt judiciary and the issue of official ties. with mobsters and gangs.

In May 2017, the National Assembly again elected Borisov as prime minister for the next term.