The 24-hour detention of Bulgaria’s former Premier Boyko Borissov, former Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov and GERB’s Media Adviser Sevdalina Arnaudova has been top of the domestic policy agenda in recent days.  Meanwhile, mutual accusations between the Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Interior continue. However, it remains to be seen whether the government will prove that it is taking steps towards fulfilling its promise to show zero tolerance for corruption.

In an interview for Novetica website, lawyer Lyubomir Talev called the detention of Borissov, Goranov and Arnaudova “a triumph of lawlessness, helplessness and pseudo change” and clarified: “It is a triumph of lawlessness, because the public has not received evidence and arguments why a person must be arrested without the sanction of the independent judiciary”. In his words, “this act is a triumph ofpseudo change, because the so-called parties of protest came to power with the promise to make judicial reform, ensure lawfulness and the independence of the judiciary, and promote the rule of law.Meanwhile, we see that they are doing the opposite.”

In an interview with the BNR, GERB’s MP Dani Kanazireva suggested that Premier Kiril Petkov had ordered Boyko Borissov’s detention. 

According to Hristo Ivanov, Chairman of the parliamentary group of “Democratic Bulgaria”, these actions of the law-enforcement authorities should have happened, as an awful lot of questions regarding Borissov and the other detainees have remained unanswered. 

The attempt of the former ruling party and the biggest opposition in Bulgaria’s National Assembly to present the latest events as a battle between the bad state and the good Borissov is unlikely to succeed, political scientist Strahil Deliyski predicted.

“It will certainly strengthen cohesion within the party. Only a week ago, during the national conference of GERB, party members said that GERB was Borissov and Borissov was GERB. Every community acts in this way when it is at risk. However, this party cannot grow bigger. Borissov keeps it alive, but he also impedes the party’s development in a dynamic political environment”, Strahil Deliyski said for Radio Plovdiv of the BNR.

“I wonder how the government benefitted from Borissov’s detention apart from saying once again- we are the good ones and the Prosecutor’s Office is bad”, political scientist Dimitar Ganev said with regard to the actions of the Ministry of Interior.

• Bulgaria's ex-PM Borissov released after 24 hours in custody

“You must have irrefutable proof to undertake such an urgent step. The partial rehabilitation of GERB and Boyko Borissov came with the end of his 24-hour detention. I don’t know what the government thought, but their actions may have a boomerang effect”, Dimitar Ganev added.

According to Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev, however, it was the Prosecutor’s Office that failed, as it did not file any indictment to Boyko Borissov and Vladislav Goranov before they were released from custody.

“It doesn’t matter what your name is. We must follow the one-size-fits-all model. This is a normal investigative action. This process will continue. The Prosecutor’s Office has not refused to initiate pretrial proceeding. It is waiting for additional information” contends Assen Vassilev.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov

Photos: BGNES