Perspectives

Opinion: Political intervention needed to stop democratic backsliding in Bulgaria as opposition mayors arrested

Garvan Walshe
 02.08.2025, 12:28
A man holds notice with pictures of detained Varna mayor Kotsev on July 16, as protests erupted across Bulgaria. (Hristo Rusev/Getty Images)
A man holds notice with pictures of detained Varna mayor Kotsev on July 16, as protests erupted across Bulgaria. (Hristo Rusev/Getty Images)

By arresting such a senior opposition figure on flimsy evidence and then denying him bail, Bulgarian prosecutors have entered the political arena.