Interior Minister Daniel Mitov defended the director of the Haskovo Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, Ivan Rasokov, despite having called for his resignation following the murder of 18-year-old Magdalena Ruseva. Mitov stated to journalists in Shumen that he requested the resignation not because Rasokov failed to solve the case, but because he had “communication errors.”
Magdalena, who was 18, went missing on April 26. Her mother reported her disappearance to the police that same day. Two days later, during a press conference on April 28 — attended by Interior Minister Daniel Mitov — the director of the Haskovo Regional Directorate of the Interior, Ivan Rasokov, said there was no evidence of a crime and that Magdalena probably ran away from her mother. However, just two days later, it was revealed that the girl had been murdered, and her body was found in a barrel in an abandoned property in Haskovo. A 17-year-old local youth, accused of strangling Magdalena and hiding her body, was detained in connection with the crime. The news of the murder sparked outrage among residents, especially in light of the police official’s earlier statement denying criminal activity.
On April 30, hundreds of angry citizens took to the streets in front of the police station in Haskovo, throwing eggs and tomatoes at the building. Social media footage showed that most of the protesters were minors.
Today, Interior Minister Daniel Mitov described the protesters as “vandals” and their organizers as “political marauders,” warning that all participants, including minors, would be held legally accountable.
“A job well done”
According to Mitov, the Haskovo police had performed very well, having solved the murder of the 18-year-old girl and gathered evidence within just three days. “There is a version suggesting that if the Interior Ministry had acted faster, the girl might have been found alive. This version is false, and anyone claiming such is lying!” stated the interior minister. He emphasized that the murder was committed in the early hours of April 26, and the report of the girl’s disappearance was filed with the police at 8 p.m. — by that time, Magdalena had already been murdered.
“Unsubstantiated statements”
“Within just three days, the staff of the Haskovo Regional Directorate solved the murder, collecting all necessary evidence so that the prosecutor’s office could not only file charges but also expect serious results during the trial,” Mitov emphasized, repeatedly highlighting that the police in Haskovo had performed their duties well. The interior minister noted that he had requested the resignation of the police chief in Haskovo not because the regional directorate and officers had failed in their work, but because the director made “unsubstantiated statements.” These remarks provided a pretext for “political marauders to defame the reputation of the Ministry of Interior.”
“A few days ago, the regional director shared a version with the media that was clearly unsubstantiated — either the director was insufficiently informed, or had biases towards a certain version. From this, given that the police had completed their work, there was a pretext for speculation and for all these political marauders, who are climbing on the image of the Ministry of Interior, attempting to tarnish its reputation, to run amok in Haskovo yesterday, throwing eggs and tomatoes at the building of the regional directorate, and using minors and underage youths to vandalize the police building,” stated the interior minister.
With a firm tone, he pledged that “all those involved in these hooligan acts will be identified and held accountable according to the law.” When asked whether responsibility would also be sought from the children participating in the protest, Mitov firmly replied: “From the children, through their parents, as provided by law! There are child pedagogical rooms!”
“The Last Breath of That System”
His comment continued with political references to the past four years when GERB was not in power: “These protests are the last breath of the system that operated over the past four years in a mode of irresponsibility and lack of statehood. Those who facilitated channels for smuggling, for god knows what! They must be brought to justice! What we’re seeing now are their final spasms, trying to cling to the image of the Ministry of Interior and abuse minors,” Mitov stated indignantly.
When asked whether the resigned police chief from Haskovo would remain within the Ministry of Interior system, the interior minister responded ambiguously. “The director allowed a situation to be created through public statements that misled me, the public, and others, and that’s why I requested his resignation,” Mitov reiterated. He immediately emphasized that “the investigators did their job — they uncovered the murder with all the necessary evidence.”
“From this point on, we will assess after the checks, but the director was dismissed due to poor communication, not because of unfinished work,” added the interior minister.
“Absolutely Inadequate”
Today, former head of the “Homicide” department at the national police, Botyo Botev, commented to Nova TV that the police director in Haskovo acted completely inadequately. According to Botev, an expert in serious crimes, the murder in Haskovo should have been solved within hours.
This case should have been solved within hours, not days. The child was somewhere in company. She left from there. It’s known who she was with. That’s where the connection to her disappearance lies. Interrogating the suspect is one thing, but how it’s done is another. It’s crucial how the information he provides in his statements is evaluated. This young man couldn’t, in such a short time and at his age, construct such a convincing alibi. In my view, the situation was straightforward to assess. The police chief’s statement that the girl ran away from her mother is unprofessional and inadequate,” Botev commented.
He also questioned the professional qualifications of the police chief in Haskovo, whom he said was a traffic officer. “This is a simple case,” commented Botyo Botev, adding that until now there has been no similar protest where citizens attacked a police station.
