The Sofia City Court has ruled that the mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev, will remain in custody. The official reason is framed within judicial proceedings, but in the public sphere, the prevailing sense is that his real “crime” is refusing to sell out to the mafia.

While local leaders and entrepreneurs are being pressured, a man with a proven bribery conviction, Dimitar Avramov, continues to sit undisturbed in the National Assembly.

In 2012, as a GERB MP, Avramov was caught after demanding 220,000 leva and control over the agricultural land of businessman Svetoslav Ilchovski. In exchange, he promised to use his influence with the agricultural administration to secure subsidies.

After the scandal, he was expelled from GERB("Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria" political party), but shortly after, he headed the DPS("Movement for Rights and Freedom" political party)  list in Montana. Since then, he has consistently entered parliament, despite court cases and a suspended sentence.

While Blagomir Kotsev remains behind bars without being guilty, Dimitar Avramov continues to be protected by political circles close to Delyan Peevski and keeps his seat in parliament as a free man.

This stark difference in treatment of different figures exposes the horrifying double standard in Bulgarian politics. Those who refuse to submit to the mafia face arrests and repression. Those proven guilty of corruption enjoy impunity.

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