When Tsvetan Tsvetanov was appointed as Interior Minister, the general reaction of those working in the system was that one of their own had finally reached the top of the ministry’s chain of command.

Police officers had been silently complaining for years that politicians, once they became ministers, interfere with the system without the slightest idea how it works, and are always ready to sacrifice policemen for political purposes.  

Hence officers welcomed the appointment of Tsvetanov, as a former Interior Ministry employee, optimistically believing that they would receive much needed support from their political superior. Tsvetanov was quick to answer these calls by adopting a strong stand in one of the most controversial cases of police brutality in Bulgaria ever. On August 10, he met the five former police officers from Blagoevgrad police department sentenced to a total of 82 years’ imprisonment for causing the death of a detainee, small-scale criminal Angel "Chorata" Dimitrov in 2005.

The Chorata case, as it has been known by the public, had been dragging on for years, prompting debate in Bulgarian society about who is untouchable and who isn’t. This was clearly visible in the actions of former interior minister Roumen Petkov, who ordered the police operation in 2005, part of which involved Dimitrov’s arrest. When Dimitrov died and his relatives alerted the media about the numerous bruises he had sustained, Petkov’s initial reaction was that he had died from natural causes.

Following the first autopsy results Petkov quickly changed his stand and had to admit that the five police officers were culpable for his death. Naturally, Petkov’s new position was not well received by Bulgaria’s police officers who felt that their minister should defend them at any cost, regardless of the evidence or eyewitness reports presented in court.

Neither did it endear Petkov to the more than 60 000 employees in the Interior Ministry’s structures, although it did appease public demands for a crackdown on police brutality. Some suggested that the fact that Dimitrov’s uncle was part of the leadership of one of the former three ruling parties also influenced Petkov’s change of heart.

With Tsvetanov’s party GERB now in power, police officers were pleased to get strong backing from their new minister. On August 10, Tsvetanov said that he did not believe that the five police officers intended to kill Dimitrov when they went to arrest him and that they were not given this task. "I always assume that police officers are not murderers, but if they break the law they should be punished," he said.

Tsvetanov also pledged his support for Bulgarian judiciary but said that he wouldn’t send the five to prison if it was up to him. "I don’t think that the five police officers are the biggest criminals in Bulgaria over the past 20 years of democracy. But court decisions must be respected," he said.   

Tsvetanov’s statement was intended to appease two parties. Firstly, he wantd to express solidarity with the police officers who gathered on August 10 in Blagoevgrad to protest against the court decision. Secondly, he wanted to convey the message that, as minister, he would abide by court decisions. Protesting police officers praised Tsvetanov’s words
and his visit to Blagoevgrad as their first success in attempting to get the court to change its position.

Whether the Supreme Court of Cassation, which has to confirm the sentences or bring the case for re-trial, will get the message and make a ruling without feeling under duress, remains to be seen.