ATHENS

Bulgarian authorities detained four people for damaging the Monument to the Soviet Army in the capital Sofia, state news agency BTA reported on Friday.

The detained are football fans aged 26, 33, and 29, one of them with a criminal record.

Pretrial proceedings for robbery and hooliganism were launched, and work on the case continues to establish all facts and circumstances, according to the Interior Ministry.

The Sofia Regional Administration condemned the Thursday incident, saying the perpetrators must be held accountable.

On Aug. 2, a government decision changed the status of the memorial complex built in 1954 from public state property to private state property. The move was seen as a first step towards going ahead with plans to remove the Stalin-era monument from its present location.