Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Nationwide protest against violence will be held at 6 pm tonight in more than 40 towns in Bulgaria and Bulgarian embassies abroad

Sadistic violence against a young girl exposes serious problems of Bulgarian justice

The case caused a strong reaction among Bulgarians at home and abroad

Court Palace in Stara Zagora
Photo: BGNES

From 6 p.m. in front of the courthouses in over 40 cities and towns in Bulgaria and in front of the Bulgarian embassies in Berlin, Paris and Copenhagen /from 8 p.m. local time/ protests have been called in support of a sadistically abused girl from the town of Stara Zagora on June 26.

For the perpetrator, 26-year-old Georgi Georgiev, the District Prosecutor's Office has requested a permanent measure of "detention in custody". He was arrested again for threats to the victim sent via phone applications and would remain in custody.

"My daughter is a prisoner in her own nightmares," says the abused girl's mother. Before the BNR, she appealed "that the laws should really be changed and that when there is an assault on a person, there should be no probation sentence". Psychologists are working with the injured girl. According to the mother, the psychological and emotional damage is huge. She assumes that what happened to her daughter was an attempted murder.

Bulgarian society is enraged by the inadequate decisions of the judiciary against the crime. After the victim's nose was broken with a blow, she was tied up and slashed over 400 times on the body and face with a knife, and finally her hair was shaved to the skin. But, the court decided that it was a matter of "slight bodily injury".

Judge Tatyana Gioneva, who works on the case, stated at a press conference that "the conclusion of the forensic medical examination establishes injuries for a temporary disorder of health, and not a danger to life. The legislator qualifies this as minor bodily harm," said the magistrate. The court decision in the case of the disfigured girl in Stara Zagora is lawful, said the chairman of the District Court in Stara Zagora Krasimir Georgiev.

The incident caused a strong public reaction, which resulted in the protest scheduled for July 31 in dozens of cities and towns in the country. 

The demonstration in Sofia will be under the slogan "We will not be silent. Stop the genocide against women!". The protest in the centre of the capital will be against the encroachment on the physical existence and dignity of any person, said the organizer Silvia Stoicheva. According to her, the neglect of such cases should be put an end to, and measures should be taken in time, including through legal changes.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Sunny Tuesday with occasional showers.

Tuesday will be mostly sunny. Over Western and Central Bulgaria cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds will develop and it may rain in places. Minimum temperatures will be between 5° and 10°C, around 7°C in Sofia, and maximum temperatures between 21°C and..

published on 4/21/25 7:05 PM

Pope Francis appeared yesterday wearing an omophorion from Bulgaria

On his last Easter, Pope Francis appeared before the faithful wearing an omophorion that he received as a gift during his visit to Bulgaria in 2019. Pope Francis remembered: Reactions from Bulgaria The word omophorion comes from the Greek word..

published on 4/21/25 4:19 PM

Pope Francis remembered: Reactions from Bulgaria

"I am deeply saddened by the passing of His Holiness - a true friend of Bulgaria and a global symbol of peace, compassion and unity," Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov wrote on social media platform X in response to the news of the death of Pope Francis...

published on 4/21/25 1:53 PM