Two Bulgarian Police Officers Resign over TV7 Scandal

Bulgaria's Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova speaking to the media following a visit to the private TV7 channel headquarters in Sofia, 29 April 2015. Bachvarova admitted police exceeded its powers during an operation for impounding assets of TV7. Phot

Two senior Bulgarian police officers have resigned over what Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova described as exceeding of powers by police during impounding of assets of Sofia-based TV7 station.

The Deputy Director of Sofia Police Directorate Radoslav Sotirov and the head of the Sofia Police Sixth Precinct  Ivan Pepeldjiski have submitted their resignations for failing to ensure adequate coordination and planning of Wednesday’s  police operation that aimed to assist court-appointed sequestrators in seizing electronic equipment at the headquarters and studios of the private TV channel. The hardware had been placed as collateral of a bank loan that TV7 failed to repay on time.

Bachvarova, who visited the TV7 building earlier on Wednesday to hear the complaints of the journalists and officials of the TV channel, has accepted the resignations of the two police officers, the Interior Ministry announced on its website.

“I think there was exceeding of powers which created tension,” Bachvarova said, adding she regretted that the journalists at TV7 had suffered stress during the police operation that delayed a news broadcast as police officers refused to leave the studio.

 

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