Detention of Varna Mayor, Blagomir Kotsev, Extended

The detention of the Mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev, is being extended, BNT has learned. Once formal charges are brought against him, Kotsev will be served with a 72-hour detention order.

Sources close to the investigation claim there is substantial evidence implicating him in a criminal offense. The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office is expected to request a permanent detention order.

It remains unclear whether the court hearing on the detention measure will take place on Thursday or Friday at the Sofia City Court.

***

Varna Mayor, Blagomir Kotsev, was detained after a police raid on the city’s municipality and his private home, which led to his 24-hour detention on Tuesday night, JUly 8.

Kotsev took office in 2023 as a reformist candidate for the opposition "We Continue the Change" party on the promise of improving the prospects for Varna, Bulgaria’s third biggest city and the biggest on the Black Sea coast.