Petar Nizamov

Thousands of Bulgarians from different parts of the country, including rockers and football hooligans, joined a mass anti-Roma rally in Asenovgrad on Sunday evening.

The rally followed a group fight last Monday between locals of Roma origin and teenagers from the local canoe kayak team. Nine Roma suspected of attacking the sports team are behind bars awaiting trial.

A Bulgarian court on Tuesday acquitted Petar Nizamov, the man who made headlines last year after detaining three Afghan migrants, tying their hands with a plastic strap, of all charges.

Prosecutors had demanded at least 2 years of imprisonment for Nizamov, whose own footage of the citizen's arrests released on Facebook sparked controversy both in Bulgaria and abroad.

A Bulgarian Socialist MEP on Monday accused Bulgarian nationalists of stirring up anti-refugee feeling to boost support for their cause ahead of the presidential elections in November.

More than half of Bulgarians generally approve the idea of volunte?r patrols of citizens detaining migrants who have crossed into the country, an Alpha Research poll shows.

The poll, ordered by private broadcaster NOVA TV, reveals that a total of 54.8% of respondents agree citizen's arrest should be used to deter migrants.

Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has suggested the shooting and publication of a video showing citizen's arrests of Afghan migrants might be part of a provocation targeting the state.

This comes after the video, uploaded by a man who is part of vigilante migrant hunters, triggered a public outcry from human rights activists and international media.