Protest in defence of President and rule-of-law took place in Sofia

The protest which began in the early afternoon on June 9 after the action of the Prosecutor's office in the Presidency, ended shortly before 23:00 in the evening.

In the late evening, the protesting members of the public blocked the so-called triangle of power, the area between the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the former Party House. Around 23:00 pm, however, everyone left with the promise to gather again tomorrow and protest.

Before that, the protesters blocked the traffic on Eagles' Bridge for about an hour.

Currently, the situation in the centre of Sofia is calm, there is no increased police presence

After passing by the Palace of Courts, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament, at 9 pm the protesters marched down to Eagles' Bridge, where they blocked the traffic and were shouting "Resignation".

About 21:30, the protesters decided to go back to the building of Parliament and then the procession went to the Presidency.

The protest started today outside the building of the Presidency under the slogan “Let’s Defend Democracy”.

Bulgaria’s head of state, President Rumen Radev, backed the protest. He went down to the protesters together with the Vice President Iliana Yotova.

"Let's throw out the mafia from the executive power, from the Prosecutor's office, which the mafia uses in the most ruthless way for its shield and for political repressions," the head of state told the protesting members of the public.

The leader of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, Kornelia Ninova, “Yes, Bulgaria” party leader Hristo Ivanov and former national ombudsperson Maya Manolova also attended the protest.

Members of the public gathered in front of the Presidency shortly after an action by the Prosecutor's office took place earlier today in the Presidency resulting in searches of offices in the building and arrests of two high-ranking officials: the Secretary for Legal Affairs and Anti-Corruption Plamen Uzunov, arrested in the investigation for alleged trading in influence, and the Presidential Security Adviser Iliya Milushev, who was detained in connection with pre-trial proceedings for alleged disclosure of state secrets.

"The prosecutor's office owes the public information about its actions," the presidential administration said in a statement on the state prosecution's actions.

The protest turned into a procession demanding the resignations of the government and the chief prosecutor and passed through several points in the capital.