Pretrial proceedings have been launched into the case of a man beating and insulting a Roma adolescent after the latter said he was "equal" to him.

The perpetrator uploaded a video of his actions with gathered more than 100 000 views (in a country of 7.1 million where Internet users are half as much) in less than 36 hours.

The footage, which lasts more than 2 minutes, will not be published here as it provides scenes of violence and humiliation. Angel Kaleev, 24 is not seen, but can be heard asking the 17-year-old Mitko if the two are equal. "If you won't beat me, I will say [we are]."

After being kicked and punched by the attacker - in broad daylight - Mitko replies the two are "not equal" before crouching and starting to whine. The victim is insulted a number of times. Kaleev repeatedly asks "So, I am a Gypsy, right?"

Kaleev initially tried to hide after the case was referred to authorities, but was later detained.

The incident occurred in the village of Ovchepoltsi, a village near the southern Bulgarian town of Pazardzhik.

On Monday Mitko told private bTV station that he had only said "Hello" to Mitko before the attack, which happened as Mitko was on his way back home after going to buy cigarettes.
 
Kaleev himself claims the adolescent asked him for money and, in a dispute that followed, he was angered by Mitko's words the two were "equal", as a comment to his own remark that "Romas don't work".

The video appeared days after footage of another incident - citizen's arrests of Afghan migrants not far from Bulgaria's southern border - was uploaded, illustrating a surge in the number of volunteer patrols organized by self-styled "nationalists" who argue they are protecting the Bulgarian frontier from criminals.