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

The Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office is overseeing 16 pre-trial proceedings concerning acts of hooliganism committed on 1 December 2025 in the central part of Sofia.

Fourteen individuals have been charged, ten of whom have been detained for up to 72 hours, while the remaining four have been placed under various restrictive measures.

The evidence collected so far indicates that the accused carried out hooligan actions that grossly violated public order and displayed a clear disregard for society.

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They threw various objects at police officers — including stones, pyrotechnics and glass bottles — overturned rubbish bins and took items from them to hurl at police lines and Ministry of Interior vehicles.

The acts were marked by extreme cynicism and audacity: they were committed in a public place, in the presence of many people, with a demonstrative sense of impunity and disregard for the established rules protecting public decency.

Six of the detainees have previous criminal records; two have previous convictions for driving under the influence of drugs and for trafficking migrants; and two others are currently under investigation in separate pre-trial proceedings.

The accused are between 18 and 36 years old.

Three of them do not have registered addresses in Sofia.

Investigations in all pre-trial cases are ongoing, with supervising prosecutors issuing detailed instructions on the actions to be carried out.

They have ordered the collection of additional CCTV footage, the questioning of numerous witnesses, and forensic analysis of video recordings.

Once the materials gathered in the course of the investigations are reviewed, prosecutors will determine whether there are grounds to request permanent detention for any of the suspects.

The Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office continues to receive reports from police departments regarding further acts of hooliganism committed by individuals on 1 December 2025 in central Sofia.