A 24-year-old Swedish citizen of Iraqi descent has died, allegedly from injuries caused by being assaulted by bouncers at a disco in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort town of Nessebar.

The incident, on July 16, was one of a number involving foreigners who have got into serious trouble during the 2007 summer season on the Black Sea coast.
The Swede and a 26-year-old friend were at the disco when they got into an altercation with three bouncers. Both Swedes were admitted to Bourgas hospital, where one died and the other was being treated for injuries.

On July 17, a mobile phone video clip was shown on Bulgarian National Television, apparently showing a policeman standing by doing nothing during the fight. The clip showed a bouncer repeatedly jumping on the body of the Swede who subsequently died.

Only one of the three bouncers initially arrested after the death of the Swede remained under arrest, Bulgarian-language 24 Chassa reported on July 19. The bouncer, Yassen Minev (29) was being charged with culpable homicide, Bourgas regional prosecutor Angel Angelov said.

A team of Swedish journalists arrived on July 18 at the Regional Police Directorate (RPD) requesting more information on the case. The reporter and the photographer told 24 Chassa that they were from the Swedish newspaper Espresso. They said that the wives of the two Swedes were refusing to speak to the media. The Swedish reporter said that he had spoken to other family members of the deceased, who they described as a decent and good-natured person who had never been involved in criminal behaviour.

“An investigation into how our employees have been handling the situation is still ongoing,” said Bourgas RPD commissioner Pavlin Dimitrov.
Venelin Tashev, the owner of the complex that includes the disco, said that the tourists had been acting like “kamikazes”...”ready to sacrifice themselves to injure someone because even when their weapons (allegedly they had a knife and a metal hand weapon) were taken away, they kept on fighting fiercely, biting on the neck one of the bodyguards”.

Swedish ambassador to Bulgaria Bertil Roth said this was a regrettable incident. “I hope the police makes a quick, objective and transparent investigation,” he said.
A crew from a Danish television station visited Bourgas police on July 18 to investigate the alleged rape of four Danish girls in Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach). Danish newspaper Extra Badets said that the girls, aged between 16 and 18, were raped in the period July 4 to July 13. RPD Bourgas said the newspaper’s information came from a Danish insurance company.

The police spent some hours on July 18 looking into the allegations. It found out that the rapes had not been reported. “I personally welcomed the Danish TV crew but I think these allegations are not real,” said Dimitrov.

24 Chassa said that, according to unofficial information, the Danish girls may have been lying to the insurance company in the hope of getting large sums in compensation.

Extra Badets also reported that there were three other Danish tourists who said Slunchev Bryag was an exceptionally dangerous place and they were walking around with gas guns and sprays, which were on sale everywhere in the resort. The same article said that Slunchev Bryag was popular among Danish youth because of the low prices of liquor.

On July 17, Bulgarian-language daily Trud said that a Danish teenager had died after excessive consumption of liquor in Slunchev Bryag.

The following day, a teenager from Belarus was hospitalised after being hit by a jet-ski in the resort town of Sveti Vlas.

On July 2, police in Slunchev Bryag arrested a Swedish tourist for alleged robbery.