BULGARIAN TRADE UNION LEADER URGES GREEK PRESIDENT, LABOUR MINISTER TO INVESTIGATE ACID ASSAULT OF BULGARIAN
SOFIA, December 29 (BTA) - The competent institutions in Greece must conduct an immediate effective investigation to detect and punish the culprits in the case of the Bulgarian Kostadinka Kouneva, who has been splashed with sulphuric acid, Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) President Zhelyazko Hristov insists in an open letter to Greek President Karolos Papoulias and Employment and Social Protection Minister Fani Palli-Petralia. The text of the letter has been provided to BTA by the CITUB Press Centre.
Kouneva, 44, was assaulted by two unidentified men at 18 minutes past midnight on December 23 when she was going back home from work. The Bulgarian is a Secretary of the Union of Cleaners and Domestic Help Workers in the Attica Periphery. According to the organization's Deputy Chair Vasso Tsouni and as alleged by the victim's relatives, Kouneva has recently received serious threats over her trade-union activities targeted against employers who do not pay social insurance for their employees as well as against undeclared work, which is common in this sector. Hristov also calls for measures to prevent violence against Kouneva's colleagues, who have received life threats over their tradeunionist activities.
The CITUB leader notes that the crime committed is not only an attempt on Kouneva's life but is also an assault against a worker and a tradeunionist who has exercised her inalienable right to protest against unfair working conditions, refusing to accept a low Christmas bonus from her employer.
Kouneva's family will institute a case against unknown perpetrators in a matter of days with the professional help of several lawyers, the victim's mother, Elena Decheva, told BTA on Saturday.
Over the last two years and especially in recent days, Kouneva has been receiving telephone threats because of her active stance against employers which systematically violate labour legislation: private companies in the cleaning business which are contracted by state-owned public transport companies.
Kouneva, a native of Silistra (Northeastern Bulgaria) and a history graduate from Veliko Turnovo University, has been residing legally in Greece for seven years, during which she has been working as a cleaning lady at the Maroussi Station of the Athens Metro. She lives together with her 68-year-old mother and her 11-year-old son, who suffers from a grave heart illness.
The Greek Police have informed the Head of the Consular Section at the Bulgarian Embassy in Athens Vassil Mitrovski that an investigation into the case has already started. The case is followed closely by Ambassador Andrei Karaslavov himself and by the Bulgarian diplomatic mission, which is in touch with the victim's mother and sister.
The criminal assault has schocked and outraged the Greek public and the Bulgarian immigrant community in Greece. On the initiative of Bulgarian priest Atanassii Soultanov, a special service for Kouneva's recovery will be conducted at the Bulgarian Orthodox church in Athens Sunday morning.
A number of trade union organizations and parliamentary parties in Greece have already expressed their strong reaction and protest. Part of them have offered financial support to the victim.
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