Parliament approves to set up ad hoc inquiry committee on police violence

With 123 votes in favour, the Parliament on November 24 decided to set up an ad-hoc commitee of inquiry to examine the facts and circumstances of the excessive use of force by the Ministry of Interior during the protests of football fans in front of the National Stadium on 16 November.

The ad hoc inquiry committee will have a mandate of one month. Atanas Atanasov from We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria was elected as its chairman. It will consist of three members, elected on a party basis, from each parliamentary group.

The committee is to prepare a report on the actions or inactions of the Ministry of Interior on 16 October and, if necessary, propose legislative changes.

PM asks Ministry of Interior to check if police officers have threatened cabinet minister

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Thousands of Bulgarian football fans gathered outside the national stadium in Sofia on November 16 during the Euro 2024 qualifier match between Bulgaria and Hungary to demand the resignation of the President of the Bulgarian Football Union and its leadership. The protest started peacefully but turned violent, leading to clashes between football fans and police and resulting in injuries and arrests.

Videos published on the social media showed police officers using unnecessary force against members of the public and the press.

This lead to calls for the resignation of Minister of Interior, Kalin Stoyanov. The Prime Minister announced that he would discuss the resignation of Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov with Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel, because he made an inadequate assessment of the situation. Stoyanov's resignation was also requested by the co-chairman of "We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB), Kiril Petkov.

GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) were firm that Stoyanov should stay in place.

The chairman of MRF parliamentary group, Delyan Peevski objected the demands for the resignation and said that the Minister of Interior was pressured during the local elections to work in favour of the WCC-DB.

GERB leader Boyko Borisov demanded the resignations of sports minister Dimitar Iliev and the chairman of the Bulgarian Football Union Borislav Mihailov.

Acting Prosecutor General, Borislav Sarafov, ordered the Prosecutor's Office to launch a probe into the management of the Bulgarian Football Union because of media publications about alleged match-fixing and financial crimes.

Speaking at a briefing on November 17, Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov said that the Head of the Sofia Directorate of the Interior had initiated an internal check to establish if any police officers overstepped their powers during the football fans protest. He said that more serious damage, or even casualties were prevented by the adequate reaction of the police.