Bulgarian Prosecution to Demand Permanent Arrest for Two Nationalist MPs

The Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office will demand a permanent arrest for the two nationalist Ataka MPs, who are accused of hooliganism.

This was announced by Rumyana Arnaudova, spokesperson of Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov, in an interview for private NOVA TV station on Thursday.

Arnaudova added that the two MPs will be summoned as defendants on Thursday and will be immediately detained for 72 hours.

After that the court will have to decide whether to leave them under permanent arrest.

The leader of Ataka Volen Siderov and his fellow party member Desislav Chukolov were involved in three incidents in the area of the National academy for theatre and film arts (NATFIZ) in downtown Sofia in the past month.

In the first instance they accused the owners of an alcohol and tobacco store near NATFIZ of selling drugs and illicit cigarettes, which later escalated into a brawl with the shop owners, citizens and policemen.

In the next two instances, Siderov and Chukolov rushed into the building of NATFIZ, disturbing classes and accusing students of using drugs.

In the case concerning the attack on the shop, the two MPs were accused of hooliganism carried out with an extraordinary degree of cynicism and inflicting light injuries on a police officer.

Their immunity from criminal prosecution in the first case was revoked by parliament, after Siderov and Chukolov had refused to give up their immunity voluntarily.

In the lawsuit concerning the incursions into NATFIZ, the two MPs gave up their immunity voluntarily at the last possible moment on Wednesday.

After that the parliament voted in favour of the permanent arrest of Siderov and Chukolov.

The two MPs have been charged with hooliganism for their incursion into the...