Former Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov cannot be arrested, he can only be imposed a remand measure of bail or signed promise for appearance, according to Sofia City Prosecutor Evgeni Dikov.

In a Sunday interview for private TV station bTV, Dikov made clear that a Bulgarian MP could only be arrested after the step was cleared by Parliament.

He informed that the arrest of Tsvetanov had not been requested by the Chief Prosecutor.

Tsvetanov is accused of failing to exercise proper control over Interior Ministry officials, thereby enabling the unauthorized deployment of special surveillance equipment against high-profile politicians, magistrates and businesspeople.

Tsvetanov gave up his immunity from prosecution on Wednesday at the request of Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov.

If found guilty, Tsvetanov faces a penalty of up to eight years in prison.

On June 12, Tsvetanov is to appear for a hearing at the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in connection with pre-trial proceedings for unauthorized wiretapping by Interior Ministry officials.

As regards the leaked wiretaps of conversations between former Sofia City Prosecutor Nikolay Kokinov, former Prime Minister and leader of the center-right GERB party Boyko Borisov, and former Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov, Dikov made clear that the probe of the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office had resulted in a ruling ordering the start of pre-trial proceedings against an unknown offender for unauthorized use of special surveillance devices.

The scandalous leaked wiretap contained a discussion between Borisov, Kokinov and Naydenov of options for obstructing court proceedings against Naydenov over charges of corruption and malfeasance on office.

Commenting on the malfeasance case against Naydenov, Dikov suggested that the trial would be over before the justices'summer vacation.