GERMAN ambassador Harald Kindermann says that he has personally reviewed all documents from the period in which, it is alleged, under-age Roma children were sent from Bulgaria to Germany and "sold" to paedophiles, and he has found no irregularities by embassy officials.
German public channel ARD investigative show Report on February 21 alleged that between 1999 and 2002 many under-age Roma children were sent to Germany and "sold" to paedophiles.
The report included interviews with Roma children from Bourgas and Dobrich who spoke of "good uncle Alex" who they said had paid them for homosexual services.
According to the authors of the piece, the trade had taken place with the knowledge of officials both in the German embassy in Sofia and in the Bulgarian embassy in Berlin, but the several reports about the matter sent to the German foreign ministry had remained unanswered.
The authors also alleged that German paedophiles have been buying the written consent of the parents because under Bulgarian law under-age people cannot leave the country without the consent of both parents.
The authors implied that the officials in the German embassy were knowingly issuing visas to the boys while knowing of the existence of the paedophilia ring.
According to the show, allegedly involved in the smuggling ring was a teacher in a primary school in Dobrich, who in 2000 reportedly helped in sending 12 under-age boys to Germany who were abused by paedophiles there.
In an interview with the bTV national channel on the following day, both the teacher and her husband rejected the allegations as "a horrible lie".
The teacher said that she had indeed taken an ensemble in which there were 12 children to Germany to take part in a music festival but they all came back after the end of the tour.
On February 23 the German embassy in Sofia held a news conference at which Kindermann said that he had personally reviewed all documents regarding the matter and had not found any breaches of procedure committed by the embassy officials in that period.
He said he did not doubt the statements of the children but said that there was no information that there had been any wrongful actions on part of the embassy.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office ordered an investigation into the case, the prosecution press office told Bulgarian news agency BTA.
The Foreign Ministry had instructed the Bulgarian embassy in Germany and the consulate general in Munich to examine and follow closely the case, Deputy Foreign Minister Gergana Gruncharova said in an interview with Bulgarian National Television.
"The case in question is about a scheme that had been operational until 2002," she said. "Its organiser is known and has a criminal record in Bulgaria."