Serbian Police Raided a Bulgarian Cultural Center and Seized Bulgarian Books

A group of civilian policemen and inspectors from the municipality of Surdulica searched the premises of the Cultural and Information Center "Bosilegrad" on the Day of the Western Outlands - November 8. The action is by order of the High Court from the city of Vranje. After the search, 23 books of the Bulgarian writer, poet and diplomat Edvin Sugarev were temporarily taken, BTA reports.

Sugarev's book "Elegy for the Outland" was stopped several times in recent months when it was tried to be brought to the territory of Serbia.

For the chairman of the "Bosilegrad" Cultural Center, Ivan Nikolov, this "sudden search" of the association's offices is "extremely surprising and incomprehensible".

According to an order issued by the High Court in Vranje, in preliminary proceedings, at 2:10 p.m., six civilian police officers from the Police Department in Surdulica invaded the Center under the pretext that they were looking for traces and objects important for criminal proceedings under Art. 317, para. 1 of the Criminal Code of Serbia - inciting national, racial and religious hatred and intolerance.

The reason for these actions is understood when the officials decide to collect all Edvin Sugarev's books. They seized all 23 books that are in the Center. They wrote a report on their actions and issued a note for temporary detention of the taken books.

The diplomatic representations of Bulgaria in Serbia were immediately notified of these actions.

All this happened just a few hours before the planned promotion on the occasion of the Day of the Western Outlands of Sugarev's book, which was supposed to take place last night in the "Bosilegrad" Cultural Information Center.

The VMRO press center announced that "