Hundreds of Sofia residents gathered for a protest in front of the Courthouse demanding an independent judiciary, BTA reports.
The protest under the slogan "Let's take down the bats of the scoundrels" was organized by the "Justice for Everyone" initiative.
"Bulgaria is a European country, the end of the mafia is approaching", "The law is not a bat", "Stop covering up the guilty and punishing the inconvenient", "#Varna for Blago" are part of the posters carried by the protesters.
A procession will also be held to the historic building of the National Assembly. The protest is supported by MPs, municipal councilors from Sofia and other cities, writers, public figures and others.
Today, for the third time in Varna, people are protesting in support of the city's mayor Blagomir Kotsev, who was arrested on July 8. The previous two actions in defense of the mayor were on July 9 and July 14. Before the second protest, the collection of signatures for a Petition in support of Kotsev and in defense of the law in Bulgaria began.
Those dissatisfied with the mayor's arrest gathered in front of the Municipality building, and the organization of the protest was also underway on social networks. At the beginning of the protest, a statement by the city's former mayor Dian Ivanov was read over the microphone, which he published on his personal profile and in which he said that he had given his testimony to the anti-corruption commission under pressure.
Among the protesters were deputies of Blagomir Kotsev, municipal councilors, and citizens. They chanted "Freedom" and raised posters in support of the detained mayor and the two municipal councilors Nikolay Stefanov and Yordan Kateliyev. The dissatisfied raised slogans "Varna for Good", "Justice, not orders", "Kotsev is to blame for not being sold" and others.
A protest against "the bludgeons of power, political repression, and the creeping dictatorship" was also held in Ruse. Signatures were also being collected in front of the Courthouse in the Danube city for "Petition in Support of the Mayor of Varna - Blagomir Kotsev and in Defense of the Law in Bulgaria!".
The protesters held up posters with the inscriptions "Today is Blago, Tomorrow is You", "Justice, Not Orders!", "No to Electoral Law", "Mafia Out", etc.
The organizer of the event, Daniela Petrova, stated that it was non-partisan and was part of the national protest against the outrages in the judicial system. Among those present were members and sympathizers of "Continuing Change - Democratic Bulgaria", "Velicie", "Mech", etc.