Bulgaria: Thousands Protested in Support of an Abused 18-Year-Old Girl

At the climax of the protest, the number of participants in the peaceful march against violence against women in Sofia reached over 7-8 thousand. The crowd that started from the Courthouse completely filled the space around it, the St. Nedelya Square and parts of Vitosha Blvd. The police estimate the number of participants in the thousands.

More than 3,000 thousand people initially came out at 6 p.m. on Monday in front of the Courthouse building in Sofia as part of the national protest against violence against women, which took place simultaneously in more than 40 cities in Bulgaria and was provoked by the drastic case of violence against an 18-year-old a girl disfigured by Georgi Nikolaev Georgiev in Stara Zagora with a dummy knife. Yesterday, people came from all directions, and 45 minutes after the announced starting time of the peaceful procession in the center of Sofia, around 5,000 people had gathered.

Traffic around the Courthouse was stopped, shortly after 6 p.m. tram traffic in the area was also reorganized. Vitosha Blvd. began to gradually fill up.

In the capital, the protest was under the title "We will not be silent. Stop the genocide against women!!! Are you sleeping well, Judge Koeva???". The location was dominated by young families, there were many young people with children, strollers, and pets. Signs "No more" were seen in many places! and "Women, Life, Freedom!". Public figures, journalists and politicians were also seen in the crowd, among them WCC-DB MPs Nastimir Ananiev and Vasil Stefanov.

About 1,300 people gathered in protest at "Nezavisimost Square" in Varna in front of the Courthouse. In the sea capital, the demonstrators gathered in front of the Courthouse in the city under the slogan: "No to violence against women! Varna is sympathetic!"

Thousands of residents of Stara Zagora participated yesterday in a protest against the violence and in support of the 18-year-old girl who was injured in Stara Zagora, BTA reported. At a meeting with representatives of nightclubs, the mayor of Stara Zagora, Zhivko Todorov, requested that persons with criminal records should not be used as security guards. Todorov indicated that, in case his request is not satisfied, the Municipality of Stara Zagora will be forced to revoke the permits for extended working hours from the respective establishments.

Thousands flocked to the procession in Burgas as well. The protesters gathered in front of the Courthouse, after which they continued to the Burgas Municipality building. The Mayor of Burgas Dimitar Nikolov, the new regional governor Plamen Yanev, people's representatives, politicians and public figures were noticed among the participants, noted the "Focus" agency.

"I'm here because I'm a citizen and a parent of a girl. Because I think that's what any real father would do and because I have to have a position and stand on the side of good. Everyone has to express their position and attitude. We have to have a civil position and what outrages us, let's express it out loud," Mayor Nikolov told reporters.

Photos: BNT, BNR, Facebook

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