Fight and Arrest as a Result of Unsigned Protocol

The Chairperson of the Association "Varna – Free Economic Zone" Kancho Bonev
got an arcade of the left eyebrow, swelling eye and hypertensive crisis

Krastina Marinova

Fight and arrest ended the request for access to public information by one of the most active citizens in the public cause for the saving of the Sea Garden in the city of Varna. During the last month, the cause summoned hundreds of supporters both in Facebook, and at the protesting demonstrations against the construction works in the unique and emblematic sea side park in the city.

The tension escalated on April 24 after a conflict in the Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre Service – Varna (GCCS). The victim was 68 years old Kancho Bonev, marine reserve officer, Chairperson of the Association “Varna – Free Economic Zone.” After he had been hit by the security guard of the public body, Bonev’s left eyebrow was bleeding, his eye was swollen and he got a hypertensive crisis. Before taking him to the emergency, he was taken to the arrest of the Second Regional Police Department.

The story starts with a request to the regional governor of Varna. The regional governor has responded to the three out of four questions, the last referring to the head of the GCCS engineer Krasimira Bozhkova. The request was about order No. ?? -20 -03-1/30 as of January 2009 related to the change of the status of the Sea Garden.

“By two new acts, the state public property of the Sea Garden has been diminished with nearly 11 hectares. This should have happened with the approval of the Ministry of Culture, which is the principal. And the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works has ordered the change of the status,” Bonev explains the problem, which is a concern of all Varna residents. That change of status affects the construction veto and a whole cadastre region in the localities of “Saltanata” and “Gorchivata cheshma,” where construction is going on with no control according to the public activist.

Bonev claims that the quarrel started in the office of the head of the GCCS when a protocol for receipt of granted access to information has been drawn. Bonev signed with a special opinion because he had also requested oral information which was not provided. Krasimira Bozhkova did not signed the protocol and insisted that Bonev wired 0.16 BGN state tax.

After wasting an hour, I realized that I was not going to get the requested order, so I took the two copies of the protocol and left,” Kancho Bonev explains. According to him, Bozhkova instructed the security  to catch up with him and to turn back “the stolen document,” i.e. the protocol which she had not signed. The fight started at the staircase, when the security guard Valyo Kolev tried to take Bonev’s bag and hot him. Then they moved again to the office of the head of the GCCS who was holding Bonev’s bag and called the police. Kancho Bonev was arrested, he was cuffed, then he was transported to the Emergency, later he had to testify and after 7 p.m. on April 24 he was released. 

“Contact the Presscenter of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works for more information. We will wait for the conclusion of the competent bodies and make our statement,” Krasimira Bozhinova said. She claimed that she was ready to provide the requested information, but the citizen raised scandal, refused to pay the tax for copying, grabbed the protocol and ran away.

“Pursuant to Art. 35 of the APIA, both sides should sign the protocol,” Bozhkova says refusing to explain why she had not signed it. She failed to explain why the security guard hit a person for a “document” that did not contain a signature, or a stamp, or a reference number.

“Proceedings under the Decree on Fight Against Petty Hooliganism were started against Kancho Bonev,” said the director of the Regional Police Department – Varna Dimitar Dimitrov. According to him, the security guard had testified but was not arrested because he had not initiated the fight.

On April 26, the Regional Court – Varna ceased proceeding against Kancho Bonev and sent the case to the Prosecution for investigation of a crime under Art. 325 of the Penal Code. As a result, the curious fact was presented that the security guard had worked in a security company before the day of the incident. As of April 24, he was appointed at a position in the GCCS – Varna. If the security company was scared to lose its license and in their favor engineer Bozhkova hurried to appint the guard as an official, is to be cleared out.

A counteraction for the firing of the head of the GCCS – Varna was started immediately by civil organizations and associations, initiated by the Association for the Optimization of Justice and Administration. In the meanwhile, three access to information requests were filed to the GCCS – for the contestable order previously requested by Kancho Bonev, for the obligations and powers of the security and the internal rules for the activities of the service. While Kancho Bonev and hos attorney Marin Marinov filed a complaint against Krasimira Bozhkova and Valyo Kolev on the alleging abuse of powers and coercion.

April 2012

This case is part of the book "Civil Participation and Access to Information (15 Years of the APIA, 37 stories of NGOs)" published by AIP within the implementation of the project “Enhancing the Capacity of Nongovernmental Organizations to Seek Public Information” supported with a grant under the NGO Programme in Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2009 – 2014 (www.ngogrants.bg).

The whole responsibility for the content shall be taken by the Access to Information Programme Foundaiton and it cannot be assumed under any circumstances that the document reflects the official stance of the  Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Operator of the Programme for NGO support in Bulgaria.