He was arrested on July 8 - nearly 5 months ago, on charges of participation in a criminal group, corruption crime and coercion. Two municipal councilors from the PP-DB were also arrested with him, as well as a local businessman. All, except him, were released with lighter measures. Charges were also brought against his PR person Antoaneta Petrova. On November 28, he was released on bail in the amount of 200,000 leva, and on December 1, he returned to his workplace. The focus is on the mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev.
"When everything happened to me, I asked my wife how my son was coping with my absence. And she told me: “I tell him that he fights dragons.” I am here because I believe that these battles with dragons should be talked about. And I hope that my son will not have to fight such duels. Freedom of spirit and a clear conscience bring true freedom to a person. Even though I was under guardianship for five months, I did not feel unfree, because to lose this freedom is to not be able to move without security. And I walk freely on the streets. True freedom is to have a clear conscience and to know that the truth is on your side," shared Kotsev.
He also said that he believed that he would be released from custody, but the feeling is of doom. “I have never encountered this system. The feeling of being there for no reason. All the time, one thinks, if he ends up in custody on the basis of false testimony, perjury, fabricated accusations, what will happen from now on - a mastery of the system that makes you stay in custody for incomprehensible reasons,” said the mayor of Varna.
Kotsev also said that he received strong support from his family, although they experienced enormous stress while he was in custody. Kotsev said that a huge trauma for him was the separation from his loved ones.
Regarding the claim that he was pressured to join another political party, Kotsev said: “At the moment when we had to function after the “Denkov” cabinet, working relations in the Municipality changed dramatically. Various ambassadors came, through people, to tell me that there was a new sheriff in Bulgaria and if we did not comply, we were doomed.”
He added: “What they told me was – you have many projects, if you want them to be implemented, you do not have much chance, except to go with the flow, which is now going on at the central level in the state. If you are not with the right people, there is no way the projects will go ahead. My answer was categorical – no. I refused. After that there was silence.” Kotsev also said that he did not know what the effect of this would be. Later, shortly after the arrest, he shared this information with Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev.