Latest Bulgarian Police Brutality Wasn't That Brutal

Crime | January 29, 2012, Sunday // 16:37|  views

Sofia police boss Valeri Yordanov explains to journalists that there was no police brutality at a recent publicized arrest. BGNES

A CCTV record of the recent arrest that sparked accusations of police brutality in Bulgaria's capital Sofia was shown by the city police head Sunday.

In the record, taken from the security system of the Tsarigradsko Shosse mall, where the arrest took place, police cannot be seen bringing the detainee to the ground and brutally hitting him, as his wife had claimed.

"You can manifestly see that our colleagues acted very clean and professionally, without disturbing random bystanders, and without using violence on the detainee," said Sofia police head Valeri Yordanov to journalists assembled for the screening.

Iliyana, the wife of arrested Stefan Klenovski, had publicly accused police of hitting him and verbally abusing her and their children in plain view of scores of other kids at the mall.

"In fact it was Klenovska herself who verbally abused our officers. The detainee did not resist arrest, but said he will seek out those who arrested him after being freed, which I plainly interpret as threats," added senior comissar Yordanov.

However, in the video a police officer proceeds to give what appear to be slaps in the face of the detainee, who is already rendered powerless by two other officers.

While the detainee is not brought down to the ground, he is laid over a counter. Further the actual apprehension happens off-screen.

You can view the CCTV record, courtesy of BGNES information agency, HERE (starts around 1:30 into the video).

Sunday Sofia police head Valery Yordanov said a full investigation of the arrest is underway and Iliyana Klenovska's complaint will be taken under full consideration.

However, he quipped "Before our criminals were frequently sick and did not go to court, now they appear to have become quite tender hearted."

Stefan Klenovski is said to be sought by Europol on charges of organizing credit card and ATM skimming networks.

Over the past week, Bulgaria was shaken by the latest confirmed police brutality case, in which a married couple was brutally arrested by dozens of heavily armed elite police, who only uncovered 5 packs of smuggled cigarettes at their homes.

This led to controversy about the manners and effectiveness of Bulgaria's police, and raised calls for senior resignations in the Ministry of Interior.

Sofia police head chief commissar Valeri Yordanov was among those who received disciplinary punishments over the case.

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Tags: Valeri Yordanov, police, police brutality, sofia, mall, beaten, arrest, detained

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