Fourteen Charged After the Clashes at Monday's Protest in Sofia

Fourteen of those arrested following Monday's protest in Sofia have now been formally charged, while another two are the subject of pre-trial proceedings. Police arrested a total of 71 people over acts of hooliganism. Among them was a man carrying 30,000 leva, which police initially said were intended as payments for hired provocateurs. The detainee denies this.

Simeon Petrov, who was found with more than 30,000 leva, was released today from custody at Sofia’s First Police Station. He says police will return the confiscated sum as early as tomorrow, after he managed to prove both its origin and purpose. He explained that he had to cross the protest area on foot because the streets were closed.

Simeon Petrov said:
“I left my home in the village of Yana with company funds of mine and money from a construction and repair site we’re working on. I reached ‘Oborishte’ Street, which was closed, so I left my car there. My intention was to reach my flat on ‘Patriarch Evtimiy’. I didn’t take a detour because there was no electricity and I didn’t want to wander through dark streets, especially with firecrackers going off.”

• Protest Provocateurs Aged 18 to 36, Including Individuals with Criminal Records

Simeon didn't know there was a protest, yet he decided to film it. His arrest happened shortly before midnight in the Triangle of Power. His brother saw the arrest live on the internet.

Simeon insists he was unaware a protest was taking place, but decided to film it once he encountered the crowd. He was detained shortly before midnight in the so-called Triangle of Power. His brother saw the arrest live online.

Nedko Zlatkov, the detainee’s brother, said:
“The footage shows him walking completely normally when they bring him down to the ground. He wasn’t throwing firecrackers, he wasn’t doing anything, and he didn’t resist in any way.”

The two brothers proved that they had a legitimate apartment rental business. The money had been sorted into separate bundles, each tied with elastic bands and labelled with different names — the addresses of the apartments Simeon manages.

Simeon Petrov: ‘Ivaylo’ Street, ‘Prague’ Boulevard, ‘Maria Luiza’ Boulevard, ‘Vitosha’ Boulevard — everything matches. The investigating officer saw that it all matched.”

At this stage, the man detained with more than 30,000 leva during the protest has not been charged.