site.btaJustice Minister Kirilov Resigns

Sofia, August 26 (BTA) - Justice Minister Danail Kirilov has
tendered his resignation, after a talk held with Prime Minister
Boyko Borissov, the government's information service said
Wednesday. Borissov will decide whether to accept the
resignation after talks with the partners in the ruling
coalition. If the resignation is accepted, it needs to be put to
 the vote in Parliament, which is due to convene after a summer
break on September 2.

Kirilov was appointed Justice Minister after the resignation in
March 2019 of his predecessor, Tsetska Tsacheva, who stepped
down following allegations for buying a luxury property at cut
prices.

If Kirilov's resignation is accepted, he will be the fifth
minister to leave the government since the start of the
anti-government protests which began in July. The four ministers
 who parted with their jobs in the meantime were of finance,
economy, tourism and the interior.

According to information of the national radio, Kirilov resigned
 due to wide-spread criticism against him on social media. The
decision to resign is his own, not made on a demand of Borissov.
 

Ever since he took office as Justice Minister in March 2019,
Kirilov is a frequent character in videos on social media
prompted by posts he made there.

The Prime Minister has personally forbidden Kirilov to post on
Facebook after a post the latter made about an initiative
carried out by the leader of the non-parliamentary opposition
Democratic Bulgaria coalition, Hristo Ivanov, on July 7 when
Ivanov and two fellow party members tried, but were prevented by
 bodyguards, to reach a public beach near a summer residence
owned by Ahmed Dogan, the honorary chairman of the Movement for
Rights and Freedoms. The event, followed by other similar acts,
sparked large-scale anti-government protests which have been
going on for close to two months now. NV/ZH