Bulgarian nationalist leader Siderov (front) has been detained at the Frankfurt Airport, according to the Foreign Ministry. Photo by BGNES
The information that Bulgarian nationalist leader Volen Siderov was detained over misbehavior at the Frankfurt Airport in Germany Wednesday has been confirmed by the Foreign Ministry.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Dragovest Goranov, as cited by BTA, has confirmed the news which has been denied by Siderov and his party Ataka.
According to Goranov, Siderov caused a “scandal” aboard a Lufthansa airplane by acting aggressively. This led the plane crew to contact the security services on the ground, and Siderov was detained upon landing.
Even though he showed the airport personnel his diplomatic passport, the Frankfurt Airport still contacted the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, which confirmed that he is a member of the Bulgarian Parliament and the passport is authentic. As a result, he was released.
“The allegations about my arrest are the product of intrigues and misinformation. I had an interaction with the personnel over the service provided, I have not been detained or arrested,” Siderov has declared as cited by BTA.
He stated that some of the passengers on the Lufthansa flight must have started a rumor about his detention.
“Apparently, some people in Bulgaria really want to see me arrested but unfortunately for them, I am not. This is all lies and intrigues, and I am going to file a suit about anybody who spreads them,” the leader of the nationalist party Ataka declared.
A statement of the press service of the party reads that an unknown person had been spreading the claims that Siderov was arrested in Frankfurt, and confirms the words of the party leader that Ataka would suit anyone damaging the image of the party.
The nationalist party Ataka is a partner of Bulgaria’s ruling party GERB within what appears to be an informal coalition. GERB has 116 MPs, and Ataka with its 21 MPs is one of the two partners of GERB together with the Blue Coalition which allows PM Borisov’s government to rely on a Parliamentary majority.