Bulgaria’s Prosecutor-General orders probe into organiser of ‘Lukov March’
Bulgaria’s Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev has ordered an investigation into the legality or otherwise of the Bulgarian National Union – Edelweiss association, organiser of the annual Lukov March, a statement by the prosecutor’s office on January 17 said.
The Lukov March, held annually since 2003, is a torchlit procession through central parts of Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia in honour of Hristo Lukov, who led the pro-Nazi Union of Bulgarian National Legions in the 1940s.
The event, customarily held on a date close to the anniversary of Lukov’s assassination in 1943, draws neo-Nazis from elsewhere in Europe. It regularly has been banned by Sofia’s mayor, but these bans always have been overturned in court. This year’s Lukov March, planned for February 22, has been banned by Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandukova.
The statement by the prosecutor’s office said that Geshev had ordered the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office to carry out an immediate investigation under the procedure for civil and judicial supervision, into whether the Bulgarian National Union – Edelweiss complies with the requirements of the Political Parties Act.
Geshev also had instructed that he should be informed immediately if information about a crime was detected, the statement said.
