Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 04:19:08 +0200
From: Nikolai Zhorov Georgiev <geonick5@cserv.mgu.bg>
Subject: BULGARIA: Police closes a gay bar

This night at 3:15 EET five policemen went in private club "Adonis" in
Sofia and ordered the customers to leave. Their argument was that the club
did not have a permit to work after 22 o'clock. There was no identification
check. When a guy while leaving mumbled "Made in Bulgaria" in English, one
policeman threatened him with beating. The policemen did not show any order
from a prosecutor to enter the club.

Last day the police came too, accepting bribe from the owner, witnesses
said. Rumours suggested that the action was done because of a signal from a
competitory gay club. Do they want to get us back to the parks and the
public toilets, a man asked.

Another man wrote the numbers of the police cars. According to him they
were coming from different police departments which proves that the action
was an arbitrariness rather than administrative order. He said he would
check the numbers of the cars and ask for an explanation.

We hope to have all the information we need to publish it in the major
newspapers. We are sure that there are other bars and clubs not only gay
that work without permits and we are also sure that the "visit" was
preceeded by somebody's signal. Probably some policemen have already
forgotten that during January 1997 (when the region was cut off because
police guarded the headquarters of the Bulgarian Socialist Party from the
people's anger) they often visited "Adonis" and drank alcohol.

I personally thought that things of my country have changed. But we still
have to fight for our pride!

Sincerely,
Nick