German Prosecutor: Bulgarian Politician Had No Immunity
Diplomacy | March 9, 2010, Tuesday
Bulgarian nationalist leader Siderov and his Ataka party leadership initially denied reports of his arrest at the Frankfurt Airport. Photo by BGNES
The leader of the Bulgarian far-right nationalist Ataka party, Volen Siderov, did not have diplomatic immunity during his scandalous trip on board a “Lufthansa” flight.
The news was reported Tuesday by Bulgarian internet media, citing the Prosecutor's Office in Frankfurt and Deutsche Welle.
After conducting a probe and collecting evidence, the German Prosecutor has concluded that Siderov had no immunity despite being in possession of a diplomats passport because he had been on a private trip.
On February 3, Siderov was detained and later released by the German police upon landing at Frankfurt airport over an incident on board of a Lufthansa flight. The release came only after he showed his diplomatic passport.
Siderov, 53, boarded the flight in Sofia, and, reportedly, refused to obey in flight rules - fasten his seatbelt during takeoff and landing, and remain in his seat. Siderov is said to have tossed the food that was brought to him, constantly hindering the work of the flight attendants and even going in the plane's kitchen. All attempts of the crew, including the pilot, to calm him down failed. Siderov further insulted the flight attendants with racist words, calling them Nazis, anti-Semites and blond-haired Aryans.
The pilot had been forced to land the aircraft away from the scheduled arrival entrance to avoid further scandals at the airport. Siderov was met by the police, already alerted by the crew and checked his papers. The Ataka leader proceeded to insult the police officers as well.
The police filed a complaint against the Bulgarian politician promoting the prosecutor's probe and pre-trail proceedings for violating the German in-flight laws.
Siderov initially denied the incident report, but it was confirmed by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry. He threatened to sue “Lufthansa” only to extend apologies some days later.
The German Prosecution points out that the apology will be considered and the lack of diplomatic immunity does not mean automatic charges and a trial, adding they will conclude the pre-trail proceedings in a month from now.
Tags: Frankfurt, Germany, racist insults, Volen Siderov, Lufthansa, flight, Ataka, Desislav Chukolov, Dragovest Goranov
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