Pictured: the 4th annual Sofia Pride gay parade which took place in June 2011. Photo by BGNES

The sixth annual Sofia Pride LGBT parade will take place in the Bulgarian capital on September 21, it has been made clear.

The parade will start at 3:00 pm local time at the Nezavisimost (Independence) square in Sofia.

The upcoming Sofia Pride parade will demand justice for the murder of Mihail Stoyanov, a 25-year-old medical student who was beaten to death in one of Sofia's parks on September 30, 2008.

The suspects, who claimed to be “cleansing the park of gays”, were charged with "homicide with hooligan motive" and placed under house arrest. They were released two years later.

The parade will also protest against Russia’s notorious “gay propaganda law.”

The participants in the parade are expected to join the now-traditional anti-graft rally demanding the resignation of the Bulgarian government on the evening of September 21, according to local media.

This year’s Sofia Pride parade was initially scheduled for June 22 – but was postponed due to security concerns.

