site.btaProsecutor General Asks that Four MPs, One Mayoral Candidate Be Stripped of Immunity

Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov has asked Parliament to strip of immunity four MPs, the prosecution service said Thursday. The request is linked to a permission to initiate criminal proceedings against Nikola Dimitrov, Yordan Todorov, Slavcho Krumov and Ivaylo Tchorbov.

Sarafov also asked the Central Election Commission to remove the immunity of Pavel Ananiev, a mayoral candidate in a borough of Sofia Municipality.

The request came from the Sofia City Prosecution Office, which said the gathered evidence was sufficient to charge the four MPs and the mayoral candidate with committing inappropriate actions which grossly violate public order and show disrespect for society, described as hooliganism characterized by exceptional audacity, and in Tchorbov's case, by exceptional cynicism.

The actions of Dimitrov, Tchorbov and Todorov were accompanied by resistance against law enforcement officers. In Todorov's case, hooliganism was a continued crime, consisting of two separate acts.

The removal of Tchorbov's immunity was requested for the illegal destruction of police uniforms and for arson of valuable property - the building of the European Commission Representation in Sofia. The fire posed a danger to people nearby. There was a risk of the fire spreading to other real estate, inventory and goods, the prosecution service said.

The request for the removal of Krumov's immunity for arson specifies there is sufficient evidence that he hurled fireworks and Molotov cocktails at the building of the European Commission Representation.

Sarafov said there were grounds to ask the Sofia City Court to order Tchorbov's and Krumov's detention in custody.

On February 22, during a protest against the adoption of the euro, demonstrators hurled red paint, eggs and fireworks at the building of the European Commission Representation in Sofia. The door of the House of Europe was set on fire. Ten police officers were injured. Six persons were charged with hooliganism.

Earlier on Thursday, Parliament adopted a declaration condemning the systematic aggressive actions of the Vazrazhdane party. The declaration was tabled by Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria.