A POLITICAL ACTIVIST AND AWARD-WINNING SCIENCE FICTION AUTHOR, HE WAS ALSO A VISIONARY OF ALTERNATIVES TO CAPITALISM ~ Yavor Tarinski ~ Valentin Todorov, who passed away in Sofia on 22 September, leaves an immense legacy for the social and cultural movements in Bulgaria. He studied physics at Sofia University and completed MFA program in Film and Media Arts at Temple University, Philadelphia. In the second part of the 80s, before the fall of the totalitarian Communist regime in Bulgaria, and in the early 90s, he played an important role for the emerging sci-fi scene in the country, co-publishing the underground journal “Practice”, as well as authoring several books awarded for their originality and exploration of deep social meanings. In the said period, Todorov also wrote texts for hit songs by cult music bands of the time, like the rock band Ahat and the punk band Kontrol. He was a co-author of the first registered independent project for a Constitution of Bulgaria in 1990, right after the fall of the regime. From 1991 to 2012 he lived in the USA. There, he became active in the alter-globalisation movement and later in Occupy Tampa. In 2004 he co-founded Indymedia Bulgaria (unfortunately now defunct) and the website lifeaftercapitalism.info in 2009. When Todorov returned to Bulgaria, he continued to be politically active. He participated in the first self-organised community space in the country—the Adelante social centre in Sofia. He also participated in social and ecological movements in the 2010s, most notably the ones of 2013, when Todorov and Adelante activists managed to provoke a public assembly at the Eagles Bridge in the heart of the city. This took place for several consecutive weeks, gathering hundreds of protesters every day to discuss protest tactics and alternatives to the system, while blocking one of the most central traffic arteries of the country, a stone’s-throw away from the parliament. In 2013, his first feature film was released, Bulgaria, This Eternal Heresy. It is an eco-anarchist-utopian exploration of the deep-seated shortcomings of what currently dominates society and of what more humane and just alternatives might look like. Val Todorov’s exploration of anti-authoritarian ideals through various mediums not only inspired his generation of rebels, but also left a rich legacy for generations to come. He will be deeply missed, but never forgotten. The post Val Todorov (1963-2025) appeared first on Freedom News.

DESPITE MULTIPLE COURT RULINGS IN HIS FAVOUR, ABDULRAHMAN AL-KHALIDI’S DETENTION CONTINUES UNDER SHIFTING LEGAL JUSTIFICATIONS ~ Alisa-Ece Tohumcu ~ Despite judicial rulings supporting his release, Abdulrahman Al-Khalidi, a Saudi dissident and former member of the pro-democracy Bees Army, remains held in detention in Bulgaria since October 2021. Bulgarian authorities, primarily the State Agency for National Security (SANS), have continued to block his freedom on national security grounds. He has not been charged with any crime. “I am not an accused person, nor am I guilty, nor have I been convicted of anything to seek pardon or forgiveness”, said Al-Khalidi in a statement. He revealed that the Sofia Administrative Court had ruled on 26 March that he must be released immediately. Instead of being freed, Al-Khalidi was transferred to a different section of the Busmantsi detention centre, where he was informed that his detention was being reclassified from “asylum detention” to “expulsion detention.” When he attempted to contact his lawyer, his phone was taken by officials who physically restrained him. He was coerced into signing documents under the threat that he would otherwise be denied access to an appeal process. Solidarity demonstration with Al-Khalidi Al-Khalidi argues this reclassification was a deliberate attempt to bypass the court’s decision and prepare for his deportation, despite his asylum claim which is still ongoing. He cites violations of the EU Directive which limits the detention of asylum seekers to situations where less restrictive alternatives are unavailable, and only following individual assessment. Al-Khalidi applied for asylum in November 2021, shortly after crossing into Bulgaria and being arrested. Over the next three years, his application was rejected multiple times and appealed through Bulgaria’s court system. In May 2023, the Supreme Administrative Court annulled all lower decisions and sent his case back for retrial due to procedural irregularities. His asylum case remains unresolved and pending appeal at the Supreme Administrative Court. A petition calling for an end to his deportation has gathered over 1,100 signatures. On 10 March, Front Line Defenders, along with 20 other human rights organisations, issued a joint statement warning that Al-Khalidi faces a serious risk of torture or death if returned to Saudi Arabia. They called on Bulgarian authorities to respect court decisions and international obligations. “The Bulgarian government must immediately release Abdulrahman Al-Khalidi, in line with the court rulings and its obligations under international human rights law”, said the statement The post Saudi dissident faces deportation from Bulgaria appeared first on Freedom News.

IN TURKEY, SERBIA AND THEIR NEIGHBOURS, MASS MOBILISATIONS ARE RISING TO CHALLENGE CORRUPT REGIMES ~ Rob Latchford ~ Mass mobilisations in Turkey have seen tens of thousands on the streets for almost a week, an uprising inflamed by the arrest of the opposition-party Mayor of Istanbul. There have been 1,100 arrests amid scenes of police brutality. Large protests are also taking place in Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Greece, Albania, Slovakia, and Hungary. Will this wave of grassroots opposition fizzle out or escalate to economic shutdowns and a challenge to corrupt regimes across the region? In Turkey, demonstrations and marches continue daily in multiple cities. The Eko-Anarşizm blog reported that over the last days many student activists and protest leaders were detained in house raids in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya and Eskişehir. The grounds for detention included charges of “provoking hatred and hostility”, “provoking or insulting the people and “insulting the President”. The Student Collectives network announced the arrests on its social media account. “Your attacks are in vain. Your fascism is glass, broken!”, said the announcement. Sarachaneh, Istanbul In Serbia, there have been mass demonstrations over the recent weeks against President Aleksandar Vucic, who has been in power for 12 years as prime minister or president, and is accused of corruption and democratic backsliding. In Belgrade on Monday, thousands rallied against a plan by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner to transform a former army HQ bombed by NATO into a luxury hotel and shopping site. Meanwhile, there has been a wide response to the occupying students’ call for popular assemblies. These now operate in all 4 major cities and many other towns and neighbourhoods. According to French source Ricochets, “for the moment these assemblies seem to be of a very diverse nature, with either purely local concerns, or national concerns, or a mixture of the two and we also do not know if they are trying to coordinate or not, or not yet and if the students are trying to do so, which, if that were the case, would give rise to the embryo of a real popular power”. Belgrade On March 20, the residents of Lazurevac, 26,000 inhabitants, held their first Citizens’ Assembly. Citizens’ assemblies were also held in Loznica, in Cacak where the assembly voted for the mayor’s resignation, in Vracar in the Belgrade suburbs, in Stara Pazova, in the Kalenic district of Belgrade. In other municipalities such as Pancevo where the process is less advanced but is progressing in the same direction, citizens invaded the municipal council, in Šida they demanded that the municipal councillors resign, in Obrenovča and Kikida they insulted them, elsewhere still, as in Nis and Vlatocinje they bombarded the municipal councillors of the power with eggs or spat on them as in Sremska Mitrovica so that there is no longer a single municipal council or regional assembly that can be held while the first organs of popular power are emerging. Citizens assembly in Palilula, Belgrade Meanwhile in Sofia, Bulgaria, there was a large anti-government demonstration on Wednesday and again yesterday. The demonstrators are denouncing the electoral manipulation that resulted in a center-right government with the participation of the far-right and Putin’s left, but above all, they want the fall of the oligarchs who effectively rule the country over parties, and particularly Delyan Peevski. Many placards demand Peevski’s exit from the political scene. The local businessman, Bolloré, who amassed his fortune in the print media market, has long been the target of protesters’ anger. Thousands of people marched from the courthouse in the capital, Sofia, to the National Assembly, culminating in crowds outside the parliament building in Sofia, where words like “Mafia” were projected onto the building. The post Wave of people’s power in the Balkans appeared first on Freedom News.

THE LEGISLATURE HAS RUSHED THROUGH A LAW THAT MIRRORS RUSSIA’S NOTORIOUS “GAY PROPAGANDA” LEGISLATION ~ from You Are Not (A)lone ~ In the heart of Sofia, under a sky that couldn’t decide between sun and rain, a rainbow flag fluttered defiantly. It was the penultimate day of what had become a grueling week-long protest against a draconian new law that threatened to silence Bulgaria’s LGBTQ+ community. The air was thick with tension, the kind that precedes a storm – or a revolution. “We are here, we are queer, they can’t make us disappear!” The chant rose from a sea of faces, some painted in vibrant hues, others etched with determination. Among them was Stefi, her eyes scanning the perimeter nervously. Just hours earlier, she had received a death threat – one of many that had been hurled at the protesters like poisoned darts. “I’ve been on the streets for five days now,” Stefi confided, her voice barely audible above the din of the protest. “We’ve been spat on, cursed at, had bottles thrown at us. One of my friends was kicked in the stomach by a Nazi provocateur.” She paused, her gaze distant. “But we keep singing, we keep shouting. It’s what we have to do.” The protest was a last-ditch effort to challenge a law that mirrors Russia’s notorious “gay propaganda” legislation – a law that the European Union has twice declared unconstitutional. Yet, in a chilling echo of authoritarianism, the Bulgarian parliament had rushed it through, passing it in two readings within a single day, silencing the voices of those it would most affect. As night fell, the shadows seemed to come alive. A group of 30 neo-Nazis materialized, circling the protesters like wolves. The police, conspicuous in their absence throughout the week, remained passive bystanders to the unfolding drama. “The municipality can’t have two protests at the same place,” explained Stefan, another protester, his voice tinged with bitter irony. “They just wanted to put us at risk, to show us how pathetic and meaningless we are”. The next day, the final day of the protest, brought a surreal twist. Another group, ostensibly protesting road violence, had been granted permission to occupy the same space. The LGBTQ+ protesters found themselves being asked to tone down their music, to make themselves smaller, less visible. In a moment of raw vulnerability, one protester attempted to extend an olive branch, asking if they could show support for the other group’s cause. The response was swift and cruel – they were asked to leave, escorted away by the same police who had turned a blind eye to the violence against them all week. This series of events unfolded against the backdrop of an open letter penned by the Solidarity Circle “You Are Not (A)lone”, a group uniting survivors of various forms of violence and discrimination. The letter, addressed to the Bulgarian public, laid bare the insidious nature of the new legislation and the broader anti-gender movement sweeping across Europe. “What we are witnessing,” the letter states, “is a clear attempt to advance the covert agenda of the global populist movement against democracy, human rights, and prevention of social abuse of power and control”. The letter goes on to debunk the deceptive claims used to justify the legislation, exposing them as part of a larger strategy to mislead the public and obstruct progress in fighting discrimination and violence. As the sun set on the final day of the protest, the air heavy with unrealized hopes, one couldn’t help but be reminded of James Baldwin’s prescient words: “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist”. In Bulgaria, it seems, the right to exist is still something the LGBTQ+ community must fight for, one rainbow flag at a time. But the story doesn’t end here. As we go to press, reports are emerging of continued harassment, of protesters being recognised and targeted on social media. The urgency of their situation cannot be overstated. “Sharing is caring”, one protester told me, her eyes shining with a mixture of fear and determination. “We need the world to know what’s happening here. We need help”. As the international community turns its gaze to this corner of Eastern Europe, one question looms large: Will the arc of Bulgaria’s moral universe bend towards justice, or will the shadows of intolerance extinguish the rainbow’s vibrant hues? The answer, it seems, lies not just in the halls of power in Sofia, but in the hearts and minds of people around the world who believe in the fundamental right of all humans to live, love, and exist freely. For now, in the streets of Sofia, a chant continues to echo: “We’re here, we’re queer, they can’t make us disappear”. The post Bulgaria’s LGBTQ+ community fights for its existence appeared first on Freedom News.