Video of Police Violence to Protesters Shakes Bulgaria

People at an anti-government protest in front of the Council of Ministers in Sofia, July 10, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

The probe comes after the release of video footage dated July 10 2020, acquired from the cameras of the Ministerial Council, which has caused fresh concerns about unsanctioned police brutality during the 2020-2021 protests.

The video was shown in parliament on Friday before making its way to the media and YouTube.

On the footage police can be seen dragging people from the protest crowd and later beating them up while hand-cuffed. One officer is shown taking pictures of a young woman while she is lying on the ground near the Council and the Presidency. 

On Sunday, four of the police officers were charged in relation to these events. 

Previously, the Prosecution and Ministry of Interior said they had found no evidence of undue police violence, despite video footage on social media and interviews on TV by beaten protesters describing their experiences and physical damage. Police officials have repeatedly denied wrongdoing. 

However, on July 22 the newly elected parliament, which is dominated by parties opposed to the former ruling GERB party, set up a commission to revise the evidence and the claims about what happened. 

The parties that gained political momentum during the 2020-2021 protests were the first to react to the footage, accusing former GERB PM Boyko Borissov and Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev of hiding the evidence and of being inactive over what they claimed was deliberate violence. 

"This is not just about several policemen losing their nerves. This was done on purpose, it was a politically motivated order and a cover-up from the institutions in their mission to steal the freedom...