Kamelia Kotseva, the wife of the Varna mayor who was publicly detained on the evening of July 8, shared a heartfelt message on her Facebook page. According to her, she experienced a real nightmare when 15 agents raided their home while their two young children were sleeping.

We are publishing Mrs. Kotseva’s message as she wrote and shared it, without editorial changes:

"I am Kamelia, Blago's wife. I am addressing the people of Varna with the following words.

Yesterday, more than 15 agents from the Anti-Corruption Commission entered my home and stayed there for 4 hours.
I was wearing a nursing nightgown. I asked if I could get dressed, and they allowed it only on the condition that the front door remained open. As I turned to get something to put on, a woman followed me into the house and began entering the rooms. My two children were sleeping in them. I woke them up – Nikola, 2 years old, and Samuila, just 1 month old. They searched every tiny corner, every room. They even searched Samuila’s baby clothes.

I was forbidden from using my phone. "No communication with the outside world," they said. They questioned me at length. They ate pretzel sticks. They advised me not to call a lawyer. Said it wasn’t necessary. Even though it was clear I was also under suspicion of something. They didn’t tell me what.

In the second hour, we finally managed to get the children out because we couldn’t breathe in the apartment. There was no oxygen. Too many state agents were searching for something. But they found nothing.

Samuila is breastfed and constantly needs me. But she spent the night with her grandmother. Our family is strong and has endured a lot. But no mother should ever have to go through such a nightmare. No one.

After that, they took Blago to City Hall. They spent three hours looking for 'appropriate' witnesses for the search protocol. They refused to 'work' with random people, yet more police officers and agents kept arriving at the building with folders. By midnight, Blago had been with the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office for 10 hours. They waited until it was dark and late to detain him for 24 hours. A police car took him away, screeching its tires in the City Hall parking lot.

Because it’s all for show.

They publicly removed him from his meeting with cultural figures, publicly kept him waiting 3 hours for the ‘right’ witnesses,
publicly took him to the police station,
publicly detained him.

Blago is a very brave man. He stood up against the economic interests that corrupted Varna, stood up to the political ambitions of the status quo for eternal power. He stood up to the stagnation that has overtaken our city. Sometimes I don’t see him for 12 hours. And he always says to me, “This is what I’ve committed to, this is what I’m devoted to”. This is what I want to give to Nikola and Samuila, some hope that Varna will be free. And that it will be the city where our children will choose to live their lives.

Support Blago today at 6 p.m. in front of Varna City Hall! Varna is in his heart, just as it is in all of ours!"

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Mrs. Kotseva's statement on Facebook - here.