According to a media statement from the Frankfurt am Main police, "an apparently drunk 53-year-old Bulgarian" had prompted the captain of a Lufthansa flight flying from Sofia to Frankfurt to summon police assistance.
The Bulgarian was said to have refused instructions from the crew and rioted, according to the police media statement, released on February 4 2010.
The incident happened a day earlier, on February 3 at around 4pm local time.
Almost immediately after the incident happened, Bulgarian media reported that Volen Siderov, leader of the ultra-nationalist Ataka party, had briefly been arrested at Frankfurt airport.
The incident and Siderov's involvement were initially confirmed by a spokesperson of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA.
The Ataka party denied Siderov had been arrested, calling media reports "disinformation" and threatening any publication that carried the story with legal action.
The deputy-chair of the party's parliamentary group, Desislav Choukolov, said the spokesperson for the ministry would "suffer the legal consequences".
Later on February 3 Siderov released a statement, admitting he had had an "exchange of words" with crew during the flight, but he denied he had been arrested, calling such accusations "a conspiracy" against his party.
Siderov said someone on the flight had overheard his conversation with the crew and had decided to "create some sensation".
Yet according to the media statement released by German police, the 53-year-old Bulgarian had refused to buckle his seat-belt at take-off and landing. Allegedly, he had also entered - and then refused to leave - the on-board kitchen and had failed to retake his seat. The Bulgarian was said to have thrown food he was given onto the floor. He also allegedly hindered the crew's work and uttered racial insults.
During the police investigation, the man was said to have insulted a police officer.
Bulgarian-language daily Dnevnik quoted police spokesperson André Sturmeit as saying that the man had not taken an alcohol test because he had shown a diplomatic passport and left the plane.
German police said complaints had been filed for insults and breaches of the Aviation Security Act. Dnevnik quoted Choukolov as saying that Siderov was in Germany for medical reasons.
Attempts to reach Siderov for comment had failed because he did not answer his mobile, Dnevnik said.
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