The events of the last week, which stirred the spirits after the arrests of the leader of GERB and former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and PR Sevdalina Arnaudova, continue to develop. With each passing hour, the mistakes of the Interior Ministry led by Boyko Rashkov and the absolute lawlessness it produced under the pressure of the current Prime Minister Kiril Petkov come to light.
However, one detail of the overall picture seems to have been overshadowed by the scandal that erupted over Raska’s police and arbitrariness. He also refers to the official announcement of the arrest of the former chairwoman of the budget committee in the parliament Menda Stoyanova, who, while pretending to be an “arrestee”, actually had dinner at her home in Plovdiv with her husband.
The “news” that Stoyanova was detained with Borisov, Goranov and Arnaudova exploded with the same fake message of the Ministry of Interior, which also spread the false information that the investigation is being conducted under the direction of the European Prosecutor’s Office. It is no coincidence that the message was deleted almost immediately after its publication on the official website of the Ministry of Interior, but the blunder shone because it had already been sent to all media outlets and covered by them.
An explanation from the Ministry of Interior did not follow, and the clarification that she was not arrested came the same evening from Stoyanova herself to several journalists.
Raskov’s silence on this unprecedented case, however, resounds deafeningly. On Sunday night, in an interview with Nova TV, he was partially asked (by the host Lora Krumova) why and how a message appeared on the official website of the Ministry of Interior, in which two of the three sentences contain outright lies. The answer was more than worrying – Rashkov described the involvement of Menda Stoyanova’s name in the case as a “minor mistake”.
However, the mistake is not insignificant at all and the appointment of the former MP as a detainee is not harmless, but is a violation of a number of international acts to which Bulgaria is a party. According to Art. 6, item 3, letters a and b of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, any person accused of committing a crime has the right to be immediately and in detail informed about the nature and reasons for the accusation against him his language, and to have sufficient time and opportunity to prepare his defense.
Declaring Stoyanova a detainee, without this being true and even without the police visiting her home at all, is a classic violation of her right to privacy and family life (Article 8 of the Convention). The actions of the Ministry of Interior also violate the presumption of innocence of Stoyanova, enshrined in Art. 48 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as the law on personal data protection.
Rashkov’s lack of a meaningful explanation of how Menda Stoyanova’s name came up in an official statement from the Interior Ministry also raises reasonable doubts that the group of those ordered for arrest initially included Stoyanova herself.
The Interior Minister failed to answer another question – what did the investigating police officers involved in the case do in the office of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov. The impression remained that the whole event had been arranged in advance in the Prime Minister’s Office, but only the persons appointed for public masquerade were not well specified.
Confirmation of this came from the head of Petkov’s cabinet – Lena Borislavova, who said that she also knew about the arrests before 18.00 on Friday. Borisov, Goranov and Arnaudova were arrested shortly after 8 pm the same day.
The question remains as to who is to blame for the fact that the names of the arrested Borisov, Goranov and Arnaudova, along with the fake news about the European Prosecutor’s Office and the arrest of Menda Stoyanova, expired from the Interior Ministry hours before the event and who allowed people outside the interested parties. to be informed about this?
Is it the personal fault of Boyko Rashkov, who ordered the press service of the Ministry of Interior to brag about his “spectacular blow”, and his employees hurriedly made a sensational blunder by releasing another pre-prepared text, or is it the fault of the media adviser to the Interior Minister? Yavor Simov – for now remains a complete mystery.
However, answers are due from the Minister, because such events, by the official press service of a state institution, not only harm the dignity of the affected countries, but can also lead to another condemnation of our country for violated rights.
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