Day 57 of anti-government protests

On day 57 (September 3) of protests in Sofia, protesters gathered in Independence square, outside the Presidency.

Their demands remain unchanged: resignation of the government and the Chief Prosecutor; and early elections.

Police presence was strengthened, but the protest in the area of the Triangle of Power passed without tension. Later, the protesters moved to Eagles’ Bridge, where they again set up tents.

One of the most commented topics this evening was the clashes from last night’s protests.

The protest organisers, the so called “Poisonous Trio” gave a briefing, at which they criticised the actions of the police. They said they would refer the matter to the European Court of Human Rights..According to them, the police could have caught the provocateurs earlier and prevented any escalation of tensions yesterday. They questioned why the police tolerated bombs being thrown for one and a half hours before intervening.

The organisers said the protests will continue in full force.

About 23:00, the rally began to thin out and people started going home.

Before that, about 22:30, the demonstrators started blocking the crossroads at Eagles’ Bridge with rubbish bins. They explained they were putting them symbolically because of the starting school year and they would not block traffic, but stated that they were ready to stop it at any time. They again called for resignation of the government. According to them, it was a lie that explosives were found in the tents and demanded for pictures to be shown to prove it.

About 21:45, as on previous days, a procession took place to Eagles’ Bridge.

At 20:30, some protesters were throwing eggs at the building of the Parliament, others stopped them.