Sofia court releases Ataka’s Siderov and Chukolov on bail
After a post-midnight hearing, Sofia City Council released Ataka leader Volen Siderov and MP Desislav Chukolov on bail of 6000 leva (about 3063 euro).
Siderov and Chukolov had been taken into custody on November 17 on charges of hooliganism and assault in connection with an October incident at the National Academy for Film and Theatre Arts in the Bulgarian capital city.
The National Assembly earlier had voted by a large majority to remove their constitutional immunity from prosecution as MPs.
Prosecutors had asked the court to remand the two into custody permanently until their trial, but in a ruling issued at 2am on November 18, the court ordered their release on bail, saying that their arrest had been procedurally incorrect because there were no technical difficulties in bringing the accused to court and they were not a flight risk.
The court said that there was a lack of sufficient evidence that Siderov and Chukolov would commit another crime if released, or affect the investigation or abscond.
Prosecutor Dimitar Petrov said that he disagreed with the court’s ruling, saying that there was a danger that Siderov and Chukolov would abscond.
Yavor Notev, Ataka MP, lawyer for the two and a failed Sofa mayoral candidate, pronounced himself pleased with the court’s ruling, which he described as “extremely logical and consistent”.
Siderov and Chukolov were given seven days to pay the 6000 leva bail.
