Bulgarian Police Clamp Down on Anti-Govt Protests

Bulgarian police dismantled a protesters' blockade in the centre of Sofia on Friday morning, as authorities showed signs of toughening their stance towards month-long anti-government rallies.

The intervention in Sofia took place at dawn between 4 and 4.30 am, when the crowds were gone and no media were present. Police removed protesters' tents and made 12 arrests.

One of those detained for some hours was Arman Babikyan, of the so-called "Poisonous Trio" of key organisers of the protests in Sofia.

Traffic around the protest hubs of Eagles' Bridge and Sofia University has now resumed. According to bTV, police undertook a similar action in the city of Plovdiv, fining 60 people for violating public order. Police carried out similar raids on Friday morning in the towns of Varna and Stara Zagora, media also reported.

Lawyer Nikolai Hadjigenov, a vocal part of the protest movement and another member of the so-called Poisonous Trio, said he would represent the rights of all those arrested on Friday, and warned that the blockades would be put up again. However, Todor Todorov, Deputy Chief of Security Police, said such actions would not be allowed again.

Protests demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, the rest of the cabinet and Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev have been going for almost a month.

On Wednesday, during a ruling GERB party conference, organised at the last minute, Borissov announced that he was contemplating resigning. However, the party convention also made the news after journalists were assaulted during the event. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Valery Simeonov, leader of GERB's coalition partners, the United Patriots, said the cabinet had no plan to step down.

That night, protesters threw eggs and...