site.btaUPDATED Sofia Municipality Denies Allegations It Failed to Notify Police about Thursday's Protest within Deadline

The allegations that Sofia Municipality did not notify the Ministry of Interior and the Sofia police within the legal deadline about the protest against the leadership of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) are not true, the Sofia Municipality told BTA on Wednesday. 

Notification of the protest was received by Sofia Municipality on November 14 at the end of the day. The very next morning the Municipality notified all relevant security authorities. No objections or opinions were received under Article 12 of the Meetings, Rallies and Manifestations Act, which is the only legal way to issue an order to stop a protest, the announcement reads.

Earlier on Wednesday, during a hearing in Parliament, Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov said that Sofia Municipality did not request a statement from the Interior Ministry before allowing the protest against BFU on November 16.

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev also denied the allegations that City Hall did not coordinate the protest with the Interior Ministry and its Sofia directorate within the legally prescribed deadline.

In a Facebook post, Terziev said that, based on what he gathered from the parliamentary committee hearing of Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov and MPs' comments, he is blamed for the unrest on November 16 and the disproportionate police response. This shows either poor knowledge of the law or an attempt to manipulate the public, the mayor said. He noted that the security risks related to sport events should be assessed by the Interior Ministry.