The reason for my departure from the Ministry of Interior is the investigation into the “Petrohan” case and the covering up of leads pointing to a specific political force in the National Assembly of Bulgaria, this emerges from a statement by Miroslav Rashkov, outgoing Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior (2025–2026).
In the statement, he thanked all colleagues for their joint work over the past 20 years in the ministry.
The Caretaker Minister of Interior Requested the Resignation of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, Miroslav Rashkov
The Ministry of Interior’s Chief Secretary rejected all the stated grounds for his removal.
“I owe all of you an honest answer to the question of why I am leaving the Interior Ministry. It is not because of the manipulations contained in the speculative motives for my removal. Nor is it because of the conduct of fair elections, something the current caretaker authorities are in no position to guarantee.
The real reason is the investigation into the ‘Petrohan’ case and the sweeping aside of traces leading to a specific political force in parliament and the network of non-governmental organisations closely linked to it. How its political avatars operate within the caretaker government became clear during yesterday’s hearing in the Parliament. These individuals, even in their capacity as ministers, are opening Interior Ministry ‘offices’ in restaurants, where they summon subordinate staff — something happening for the first time in these employees’ professional careers.
I leave it to the conscience of the caretaker Minister of Interior how he intends to work while holding this post. But I will not accept the crushing of investigations and colleagues because of their official positions,” Rashkov wrote.
He added that he expects a wave of further dismissals of professionals, disguised as actions related to the conduct of fair elections.
“The investigation into the ‘Petrohan’ case has nothing to do with the elections on 19 April, yet the first dismissals in the Ministry of the Interior are linked to the work all colleagues have carried out on it. I trust the investigators working on the ‘Petrohan’ case and am confident they will withstand the political pressure to block the investigation,” he said.
Caretaker Cabinet Has Proposed to the President that the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Be Dismissed
President Iliana Iotova Dismisses the Chief Secretaryof the Ministry of Interior
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Source: BTA
Miroslav Rashkov on Wednesday, February 25, categorically rejected all reasons cited for his proposed removal as Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior. He made the statement from the parliamentary rostrum during a hearing of the caretaker Minister of Interior Emil Dechev and heads of departments in the Ministry of Interior, following reports of alleged pressure exerted by the Minister regarding the Petrohan-Okolchitsa case in which six people lost their lives.
Secretary General Rashkov declared: "I stand on the highest rostrum in Bulgaria in my capacity as a Bulgarian police officer and a professional with a 20-year career in the Ministry of Interior. For me, the profession of police officer is a symbol of courage and dedication for the benefit of citizens and society."
Rashkov said he wished to express his "serious concerns regarding the future of the Petrohan investigation and the assurance of objectivity in uncovering the full truth."
On February 23, aretaker Minister of Interior Dechev said at a briefing at the Council of Ministers that he had proposed Rashkov's dismissal.
Despite being warned by the chair of the sitting, Nikoleta Kuzmanova, that he was straying from the subject of the hearing, Rashkov continued to comment on the motives behind the request for his resignation in response to a question from Toshko Yordanov, chair of the parliamentary group of There Is Such a People.
Regarding the local elections in Pazardzhik a year ago, the Ministry of Interior’s Secretary General said that operational headquarters had been convened and the relevant action plans had been drawn up.
Another reason cited for seeking his resignation concerned police actions to guarantee public order and the life and health of protesters in the autumn of 2025, he said, providing details about security arrangements for the December 1 protest. According to him, the Sofia Municipality had not coordinated the holding of the march on that day. It had been assessed that there was a high likelihood of public order violations, Rashkov noted. Law enforcement authorities had called for the event to proceed peacefully and had held meetings with the organizers. A total of 75 people were detained, 23 of whom were known to the Interior Ministry, he said, stressing that there had not been a single seriously injured civilian during the protest.
From the outset of the “Petrohan” case, numerous comments have appeared in the public sphere linking individuals and non-governmental organisations to a particular political circle, Miroslav Rashkov said.
For that reason, and in order to preserve the objective course of the investigators’ work, as well as to ensure equal consideration of all hypotheses put forward, he stated that he had refrained from providing public information on the case.
Rashkov also informed MPs that his deputy, Yavor Serafimov, whose resignation had also been requested by Emil Dechev, is currently in hospital. The Secretary General disclosed that on February 10 Serafimov had been admitted for surgery. After being discharged, he submitted a medical certificate, and the diagnosis "does not concern a meniscus," Rashkov said. Following complications, the deputy Secretary General was readmitted to hospital, he added.
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