A 56-year-old surgeon in Veliko Turnovo has been arrested on suspicion of demanding and taking bribes. The man is also a municipal councillor for the ultra-nationalist party Ataka.

The surgeon allegedly demanded 250 leva from a patient in Gorna Oryahovitsa, on whom he had operated, with the promise that the woman would receive better treatment. The patient`s daughter tipped off police and the surgeon was arrested after the bribe, paid in marked bills, had been given to him.

Ataka`s municipal co-ordinator, Borislav Borissov, said the party absolutely and totally distanced itself from the accused. According to Borissov, the accused had never been a bona fide member of the party and did not legitmately represent Ataka in the municipal council.

The accused was said to have had a document proving his membership, but that document alledgedly disappeared. Borissov said he personally had no information the accused was ever accepted as a party member, Focus news agency said.

Asked how the man could have become a municipal councillor of the party, Borissov said the accused was part of a group that had been hand-picked by the former regional head of the party, Stefan Soyanov, Focus news agency said.