Investigation of Death of 'Bulgarian Jan Palach' Still Underway

Society | March 4, 2013, Monday // 20:22
Bulgaria: Investigation of Death of 'Bulgarian Jan Palach' Still Underway The poster carried by Goranov, written on a half sheet of plasterboard, was shown to journalists on Monday at an extraordinary press conference of the prosecuting authority.Photo by BGNES

Plamen Goranov, who set himself on fire in protest against Varna Mayor Kiril Yordanov and his alleged ties with the TIM business group, had carried a poster calling for the resignation of the Mayor and the entire Municipal Council.

Goranov, 36, set himself on fire on February 20, 2013, in front of Varna's municipality, in protest against poverty and corruption.

The man died at around 8pm on Sunday in a Varna-based hospital after an 11-day agony.

According to reports of the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Varna, Goranov carried a poster saying "Resignation of Kiro and the entire Municipal Council by 5pm on February 201, 2013."

The poster, written on a half sheet of plasterboard, was shown to journalists on Monday at an extraordinary press conference of the prosecuting authority.

Desislava Yotova, Spokesperson for the prosecuting authority, made clear that the liquid which Goranov had poured over himself had not yet been identified.

She said that the investigating officers had found two tubes, one 12-liter tube and one 5-liter tube, the latter one empty.

Yotova informed that Goranov had set himself ablaze with a lighter.

She added that the results of Goranov's autopsy had not yet been released.

Yotova told journalists that the investigation had focused on finding the premises where Goranov had lived.

She said that he had been paying rent for three places, two of them in Dobrich and one in Varna, adding that the address of the Varna-based site was still unknown.

Yotova declared that the investigation of the case continued, adding that pre-trial proceedings for incitement to suicide had been opened under Art 127, para 1 of the Penal Procedure Code.

Meanwhile, a YouTube video from the anti-government protests in Varna showing Goranov speaking out against the security and business group TIM was brought up Monday by by Bulgarian investigative journalism site Bivol.bg.

TIM is a major security and business group which is said to control tightly the politics and economy in Varna, and according to US diplomatic cables leaked on WikiLeaks is rooted in the 1990s organized crime. Its group of companies includes the Central Cooperative Bank, Chimimport, Bulgaria Air, among many others.

The video shows Goranov speaking briefly before a protesting crowd in Varna the day before the incident in which he set himself on fire in front of the Varna Municipality building.

Goranov urges the protesters to shout "Down with TIM".

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Tags: Plamen Goranov, TIM, Varna, Varna Municipality, Varna Mayor, Kiril Yordanov

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