One of five supporters of the ultra-nationalist party Ataka arrested on July 30 was the party’s member of the European Parliament (MEP) Dimitar Stoyanov.

The arrest of the five, four men and a 15-year-old girl, caused Ataka supporters to gather in front of a police station, resulting in clashes with the police in which three policemen were injured. Two of the victims were hit with flagpoles. Two firecrackers were thrown at the police cordon, but did not harm anyone.

According to an Interior Ministry press release, police seized a chain, iron club and knife from the arrested. The five were identified, questioned and released later that evening.

On August 1, two days after the arrest, the Interior Ministry press centre told The Sofia Echo that they could not comment on the charges in which Stoyanov and the other Ataka supporters were arrested. “We don’t have any more information than what has already been said on our website,” the press centre said.

Stoyanov claimed that policemen beat him. Ataka leader and stepfather of Stoyanov, Volen Siderov, said that Prosecutor-General Boris Velchev had approached the military prosecution about the case. A medical report showed that Stoyanov had 34 bruises, Siderov said.

The clash was “a shame for the prime minister”, he said at a news conference on July 31. Siderov demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev to ask him for an explanation regarding the arrest.

Interior Ministry Mihail Mikov was going to appoint an internal committee to investigate the case, Siderov said, as quoted by Focus news agency.

“I don’t trust the Interior Ministry. Currently, this institution has been discredited to an incredibly low level […] There is no hope for a fair and lawful decision,” Siderov said.