Protests outside Parliament continued on July 21, then moved to Council of Ministers

While the MPs in the National Assembly rejected the vote of no confidence on July 21, protesters gathered again in front of the Parliament building.

Shortly after 12:20 pm, they walked to the Council of Ministers building.

Nikolai Hadzhigenov: We fail to convince people that it not the time for the division of red, blue, green, etc.There will be such a moment when we have the opportunity for fair elections - then everyone will be divided into what he wants or what he can. Otherwise, you see - entire industries are already appearing at the protest or in solidarity with it for the simple reason that Borissov's government is liquidating every single business in our country. The role of this Parliament in its meaningful part is only one - to adopt remote voting in the Electoral Code and to leave. Everything else is a lie, fraud and keeping the corrupt government for this purpose, not for another. For example, Boyko boasted early this morning on FB, but deliberately there, so that no one would ask him whether this 29 billion is his personal merit. Yes, but aren't there 21 billion loans or am I wrong...if he gives a press conference, someone may ask the question.

Mincho Spasov and Svetoslav Traikov, who were detained by police yesterday, also spoke to the protesters.

Mincho Spasov: We are against violence, but not only against street violence, but also against the violence of the government, which is uncontrolled and unpunished.

Svetoslav Traikov, detained in the Fifth Police Department: I was detained in the underground at Eagles Bridge, without being told why, what I did and what I did wrong. My access to a lawyer was restricted. A lawyer was allowed maybe 2 and a half hours after I was in custody. They didn't give me water, they didn't let me use my phone, they didn't let me call my 5-year-old daughter! We will not forgive! We will not let you play with our destiny! We will be here until we say goodbye forever and you stay there - in the political dump where you belong! Resign, Mutri (thick necks)!

After 12:30 pm, the traffic on Dondukov Blvd. Was temporarily blocked. The protesters say they will stay in the "Triangle of Power" until the evening.

After 13:30 the traffic on Dondukov and Tsar Osvoboditel boulevards was re-opened.

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On July 20, the underground service in the direction of Mladost residential area was stopped for a short period of time, allegedly after three participants in the protests pressed the public emergency stop button in Sofia University station.

Later in the day, Mincho Spassov, а former MP for Simeon Saxe-Coburg’s NMSII party and another man were detained in connection with the incident at the underground station .

Protesters gathered in front of the building of the First Regional Police Station in Sofia, where former MP Mincho Spasov was detained. According to unofficial information, the reason for his detention was the temporary suspension of the underground service, as part of the anti-government protests.

Protesters in support of Mincho Spasov blocked traffic on Shipchenski Prohod Blvd., where the 1st police station is located, and described his detention as repression. They chanted "resign", "leave the protest alone", "thick necks out", and briefly blocked a police car.

The Ministry of Interior did not officially confirm the name of Mincho Spasov, but informed that a 56-year-old man was detained after at 11:50 in the area of ​​the metro station "Kliment Ohridski" three people pressed the button for emergency stopping of the trains and ran away immediately afterwards.

The Ministry of Interior stated that two people were detained, who according to the video recordings looked like the alleged perpetrators.

"At the moment, their complicity in the crime, in our opinion hooliganism, is being established through the means of the Criminal Procedure Code. Tomorrow, after completing the necessary volume of investigative actions, the materials will be reported to the prosecutor’s office and the supervising prosecutor will decide whether a crime has been committed or not, what it was and who did it," explained Nikolay Stanchev from Sofia Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior.

In front of the 1st Regional Police Station were the municipal councilor Boris Bonev and the former ombudsperson Maya Manolova, as well as Tatiana Doncheva, who is the lawyer of Mincho Spasov. According to her, lawyers were not allowed to visit him for hours.

"The Sofia Bar Council has sent representatives and more fellow lawyers are gathering, and we plan to make a lawyer's defense from many, many lawyers who the room in the police station will not be able to accomodate," Tatiana Doncheva, Mincho Spasov's lawyer said.

Spasov was in custody for 24 hours. The work on the case continues, the Ministry of Interior announced. The Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor's Office promise a briefing at which they will announce details.

According to unconfirmed information, the other detainee is part of the team of the "Poisonous Trio" - the organisers of the protest. He is in the Fifth Police Station. His lawyers claim that they have not been allowed to see him for hours.