Icon: enlarge
Scuffles between protesters and police officers on September 2, 2020 in Sofia
Photo: NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV / AFP
Dozens of people were injured in clashes between government critics and police officers in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
According to a media report, at least 38 people were hospitalized injured, including police officers and journalists.
Protesters had previously tried to break through a police line around parliament.
35 people have been arrested.
Most of them are said to be football ultras who have already committed criminal offenses, according to police chief Georgi Hadschiew.
Khadjiev denied allegations by human rights activists that the forces were disproportionately harsh on the demonstrators.
Prime Minister Borisov is accused of corruption
The protests are directed against the government of Prime Minister Boris Borisov, whom the demonstrators accuse of corruption and proximity to oligarchs.
Thousands of demonstrators chanted "resignation" and "mafia" in the center of Sofia.
Some threw stones, eggs and tomatoes.
The police used pepper spray and tear gas against the people.
Six of the hospitalized injured had burns or difficulty breathing.
After the summer break that has just ended, the Bulgarian parliament is discussing a government proposal to amend the constitution.
On Wednesday, Borisov's GERB party was able to mobilize the necessary 120 votes to take the proposal a step further - but observers doubt that the government will get the 160 votes necessary to reach the next stage of the process.
Critics accuse Borissov that the constitutional reform does not provide for greater accountability for the head of the Bulgarian public prosecutor's office.
The current chief prosecutor Ivan Geschew is also confronted with calls for resignation because of alleged connections to the country's powerful oligarchs.
At the same time, the reform is intended to curtail the president's rights.
President Radew: "Trust is definitely lost"
In view of the protests, Bulgarian President Rumen Radew once again called for early elections in parliament.
"Trust has definitely been lost," said the former general, supported by the opposition socialists.
Raids by the public prosecutor's office had triggered the protests two months ago.
Borisov has been in power almost continuously for ten years.
He resigned in 2013 and 2016, but returned to the top of the government a few months later.
So far, however, he has refused to step down before the end of his third term in March next year.
Bulgaria is considered to be the EU country where corruption is most widespread.
The country is comparatively poor and few oligarchs control large parts of the economy.
Icon: The mirror
bah / AFP
