Outrage over assault by Bulgarian Parliament Speaker’s bodyguard

Outrage and calls for resignations have followed an incident on October 22 in which a National Protection Service staffer guarding Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Mihaela Dotsova pushed PIK website employee Sonya Koltuklieva to the ground, injuring her.

The clash took place in front of the headquarters of Prime Minister Roumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria, where there was a meeting in which Radev and other senior officials, including Dotsova, were participating.

When Dotsova was leaving the building and got into a National Protection Service official car, Koltuklieva approached her and called on her to “talk to the journalists”.

Koltuklieva pulled the car door open, at which point the National Protection Service staff pushed her, causing her to fall backwards on to the pavement.

Opposition parties called for Dotsova to resign, given that she moved on, allegedly ignoring what had happened to Koltuklieva, who was taken to hospital, reportedly with an injured collarbone, shoulder and concussion.

Boiko Borissov’s GERB-UDF was on October 23 gathering signatures to petition for a special sitting of the National Assembly to vote for Dotsova’s resignation.

Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Ivailo Mirchev said: “You can’t knock a person to the ground and then just walk past them as if nothing happened. You can’t attack a woman! I have huge differences with Sonya Koltuklieva and the way she does journalism, but nothing justifies such an attitude and use of force”.

President Iliana Yotova said on October 23 that she would ask National Protection Service head Emil Tonev to resign. Tonev said that he was willing to step down.

Asked by reporters whether she would call for Dotsova to resign, Yotova said: “A president cannot demand the resignation of the Speaker of the National Assembly”.

The National Protection Service said in a media statement that an internal investigation is underway into the actions of the security officer. Some of the security team employees will be suspended from work until the investigation is completed.

If guilt is established, disciplinary action will be imposed, the National Protection Service said.

In a statement,.the Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria demanded accountability for the brutal use of physical force by an employee of the National Protection Service against reporter Sonya Koltuklieva from the website PIK.

It is no less reprehensible that the perpetrator and his colleagues left the scene of the incident without inquiring about the condition of the victim, without providing her with first aid and without calling for emergency assistance, the association said.

Regardless of whether Koltuklieva’s actions constitute a provocation, the National Protection Service Act stipulates that “officers and sergeants of the National Security Service are obliged, if possible, to take all necessary measures not to endanger the life and health of citizens” the statement said.

Apart from the criminal and official responsibility of the NPS, there is the question of the political responsibility of the ruling party, the association said.

“It is worrying that the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mihaela Dotsova, made no attempt to order the security guards to stay on site and take care of the victim or at least check on her condition,” the Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria said.

“In spite of the fact that we have repeatedly drawn attention to the sensational nature and trampling of ethical and professional standards by sites like PIK, in this particular situation Koltuklieva had a completely reasonable question for Dotsova related to the work of the National Assembly. Instead of answering, the MP took advantage of the security to hide in the car,” it said.

Progressive Bulgaria said on October 23 that the opposition’s demand for the resignation of the Speaker of Parliament is inappropriate “and not only ignores the procedures established in the NPS, but also reveals the resurrection of the assemblage” – a reference to the previous informal governing coalition.

“The attempt to use the incident in question for the political rehabilitation of the assemblage will not succeed,” the party said.

The incident came three days before Bulgaria holds regular presidential elections.