Мagistrates and court officials from all over the country held a peaceful protest under the slogan "WE ARE NOT AFRAID!" in support of the independence of the judiciary, following the unprecedented assassination attempt on the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria Ivan Geshev.
In Sofia, the demonstration was attended by magistrates from all the Prosecutor’s Offices in the appellate region, investigators from the district investigation departments and the National Investigation Service, as well as court officials.
The protesters demanded that the Bulgarian institutions take urgent action to preserve the lives and safety of prosecutors, investigators and court officials in the performance of their duties.
"We are magistrates and court officials here. AND WE ARE NOT AFRAID. Because, the people who have gathered here and throughout the country, we give our health and life, in the interest of society. For that we will not allow ourselves to be threatened and physically attacked for our work. If necessary, we will be here every day - in front of the Palace of Justice, until the state and the responsible institutions react to protect the safety of our families," said the spokesperson of the Prosecutor General Siyka Mileva during the protest.
Physical and psychological abuse of the personality of any magistrate is an assault on the entire prosecution, the protesters united.
The press center of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria publishes the full text of the statement of the spokesperson of the Prosecutor General Siyka Mileva during the event:
We are here today to say in the face of crime that wants to intimidate us, WE ARE NOT AFRAID!
We are witnessing a long-standing war being waged against the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office, a war with manipulations, media attacks, publications, lobbyist legislation and street protests. They failed in this way and now they tried to kill the Prosecutor General.
The attempted assassination of the Prosecutor General is not simply a desire for personal physical destruction driven by hatred of oligarchs, politicians, criminals and defendants. It is a vulgar and blatant demonstration that someone is watching us and can take a life with the push of a single button. This is act of terrorism.
That is why we are more than united at the moment.
We are magistrates and court officials here. AND WE ARE NOT AFRAID. Because, the people who have gathered here and throughout the country, we give our health and life, in the interest of society. For that we will not allow ourselves to be threatened and physically attacked for our work. If necessary, we will be here every day - in front of the Palace of Justice, until the state and the responsible institutions react to protect the safety of our families.
It is unacceptable in the 21st century, in a member state of the European Union, an assassination attempt to be carried out against the Prosecutor General. If, miraculously and thanks to God, we have no victims and no injured today, then tomorrow the explosion could be in the home of any one of us. We will not let this brutal act of self-destruction stop us in our fight for justice and fairness. Our fight is for the right and dignity of Bulgarian prosecutors and investigators.
The most important question now, however, is how the state will respond to this brutal assault. Because this act is not only an attempt to assassinate the Prosecutor General, it is an attempt to eliminate the state and institutions.
Today we will not be silent in the face of fear.
The Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office will do its utmost to reach the perpetrators and the people who ordered this terrorist act and to hold them accountable.