On the occasion of 152 years since the death of the Apostle of Freedom, the Sofia Municipality is organizing a historical reenactment "Living Pictures from the Establishment of the Sofia Secret Revolutionary Committee by Vasil Levski and His Interrogation Before the Turkish Court". It was held on "Gina Kuncheva" Square in Sofia in front of dozens of citizens, children and students from Sofia schools. The historical scenes were recreated in the presence of the deputy mayors of Sofia Blagorodna Zdravkova, Ivan Vassilev, and the chairman of the Sofia Municipal Council Tsvetomir Petrov.
The establishment of the Sofia secret revolutionary committee by Vasil Levski was reenacted by recreating the authentic atmosphere. In 1871, in the former village of Birimirtsi, Levski founded a secret revolutionary committee. Together with his friend Father Gennady Ihtimanski – abbot of the Dragalev Monastery, they gathered patriotic villagers from Birimirtsi and Obradovtsi in the house of Vele Mitrov and laid the foundations of the secret conspiracy.
Levski's order was that the oath be pronounced in front of a Gospel or a cross, in front of a knife and a revolver, and with the left hand placed on the heart. The newly appointed members of the committee take the oath repeating Levski's words – “I swear on the Gospel, on my honor, and on my Fatherland, before God, and before the honest assembly of the conspiracy, that of everything that has appeared to me, I will not tell or reveal anything to anyone until death and the grave. I swear and promise by laying down this sacred purpose.“
Levski's interrogation before the Turkish court was also recreated. The interrogation was conducted by Pasha Ali Saib Pasha (played by Georgi Marinov).
On December 27, 1872, Vasil Levski was captured by the Turkish police at the Kakrin inn near Lovech. Until the last moment, the Turks did not know who they had captured and Levski was taken to Tarnovo to be identified. Only there did it become clear who he was. He was subsequently taken to Sofia, where he was brought to trial. In Sofia, Levski was interrogated six times. The first interrogation was held on January 4, 1873 by a commission headed by Ali Saib Pasha.
Before the judges, the Apostle took all the blame for the activities of the Internal Revolutionary Organization upon himself and prevented the detention of other of its activists. Levski did not reveal a single name, did not name any of the committee activists and did not convey any secret from the revolutionary organization.
Levski's example is self-sacrifice for Bulgaria. His words and deeds are great. With exceptional courage and heroism, with an apostolic deed dedicated to the liberation of Bulgaria, Vasil Levski lives forever in the memory of Bulgaria and shows us what our ideal for a homeland should be.
The reenactment was realized by the National Union “Unity“. The role of Levski was played by Adrian Nikolov, and that of Ali Saib Pasha was played by Georgi Marinov. The event was attended by a student brass band from the First English High School and students from 112. Primary School “ Stoyan Zaimov“. They recited the poem “The Hanging of Vasil Levski“ and personal works dedicated to the Apostle. The host of the event was actor Pavel Ivanov.