Balgarianovinite.com The Sofia District Court terminated and returned to the prosecution the case against six defendants charged with hooliganism committed during a February protest in front of the House of Europe (the European Commission Representation and the European Parliament Liaison Office in Bulgaria) in Sofia. A procedural hearing was held on the case on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Atanas Dotsinski argued that the indictment contained no procedural flaws and that the proceedings should not be discontinued.
The defence, however, maintained that the case contained remediable violations and should be returned to the prosecution. They said the indictment lacked a description of the acts relating to non-compliance with orders issued by a public authority, as well as of the qualifying element of “exceptional audacity and cynicism” required for the hooliganism charge. They added that contradictions and inconsistencies in the indictment could be corrected.
The court panel agreed with the defence that essential procedural violations had been committed during the pre-trial proceedings. The court noted that case law requires the circumstances leading to the conclusion that the act was committed with “exceptional audacity and cynicism” to be clearly stated. The description of resistance against a public authority was also considered too succinct and needed clarification; for one of the defendants, no description of such acts was provided at all, beyond a declared resistance. The indictment also failed to specify the nature and concrete manifestations of the bodily injury allegedly inflicted on a police officer. According to the court, these omissions impeded the defendants’ right to defence and constituted remediable deficiencies in the indictment.
Speaking to the media, Prosecutor Dotsinski said he would appeal the court’s ruling.
“This is a political case,” said lawyer Peter Petrov, Vazrazhdane’s Deputy Floor Leader, who represents one of the defendants. He noted that due to the absence of one lay judge, the presiding judge replaced them “on the spot” while the hearing was already under way. “We believe this is a procedural violation and grounds for recusal, but such a motion was not made,” Petrov said. He added that the charges were unfounded, pointing out the lack of description of acts qualified by the prosecution as exhibiting audacity and cynicism, as well as the absence of details on resistance to police or failure to comply with police orders.
On February 22, the Vazrazhdane party led a protest in opposition to Bulgaria’s planned adoption of the euro. Protesters threw red paint, eggs, and fireworks at the building housing the European Commission’s representation in Sofia and set its entrance door on fire. Ten police officers were injured during the demonstration, nine people were arrested. The Sofia Regional Prosecution Office has filed an indictment on July 15. Court Returns Case against Six Defendants over Hooliganism during Vazrazhdane-Led Protest outside House of Europe in Sofia 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-11-25 18:26:54 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law