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Investigations carried out by the Bulgarian Public Prosecutor’s Office are based on principles and arise solely from the law, regardless of the persons investigated, the departments and the institutions they represent. However, the prosecution has been attacked by politicians from all directions. This is clear from the letter from the Bulgarian state prosecutor’s office to the Civil Liberties Commission (LIBE) of the European Parliament (PE), which was sent with questions about the prosecution’s work on corruption offenses.
“The statements of politicians in recent months have generated complaints of inequality and selectivity in the investigations of high government officials, which is a direct attempt to interfere with the independence of the prosecution and make it dependent on political actors,” he said . in the responses.
As part of the attacks, the statements of several native politicians are listed.
An example is the statement by Deputy Prime Minister Krassimir Karakachanov, who is also the leader of IMRO. When he arrested former Environment Minister Neno Dimov, he described his arrest as a “conspicuous murder”.
The prosecution says that in a similar vein it was a statement by Cornelia Ninova, leader of the BSP, whose parliamentary group is the second largest in the Bulgarian parliament.
The prosecutor’s office said his attack came after the chief prosecutor asked the Constitutional Court about President Rumen Radev’s immunity. He later called these actions “an attempt to intimidate” the head of state.
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who is also the leader of the largest party, GERB, also made suggestions for political influence. Upon leaving the special prosecutor’s office, where he was summoned to be questioned as a witness in the trial investigation, he stated that with these actions “the prosecutor’s office pleases Radev,” that is, the president.
The actions of the prosecution and the head of state were defined as “politically motivated”.
On July 9, 2020, in a political protest with his participation, he called the prosecution a “mafia”. Most likely, Radev’s statements against the prosecution are motivated by criminal prosecution actions taken against two employees of the presidential administration in connection with the crimes committed by them related to their service: Plamen Uzunov and Iliya Milushev. The prosecution also explained why the two were being investigated.
Another example of political influence cited by the prosecution are the numerous statements made by Hristo Ivanov, President of Yes Bulgaria and former Minister of Justice. In recent months, he has called for “purging and reelection of prosecutors.”
The activity of the Bulgarian Public Prosecutor’s Office in the direction of countering corruption, as well as on the occasion of engaging the criminal responsibility of a number of important figures for Bulgarian society, is unprecedented in the period after 1989, the letter says.
Responses to LIBE also indicated that, for the first time since 1989, charges had been brought and the court had imposed measures to arrest the current minister and the incumbent government deputy minister. These are the Minister of Environment and Water, Neno Dimov, who belongs to the IMRO quota, who is part of the ruling coalition, and Krassimir Zhivkov, his deputy, who belongs to the GERB quota.
The prosecution notes that some of the richest Bulgarians, whose properties were criminally acquired and for whom public opinion has long been untouchable, have been brought to criminal responsibility: Vasil Bozhkov, Plamen and Atanas Bobokovi, Valcho. and Marinela Arabadjievi, Nikolai and Evgenia Banevi, Minyu Staykov and the banker Tsvetan Vassilev, who is hiding in Serbia.
The responses say that with an indictment filed, the criminal proceedings against Tsvetan Vassilev, Valcho and Marinela Arabadjievi, Nikolay and Evgenia Banevi and Minyu Staykov are in the judicial phase.
Following the prosecution’s actions, at the end of 2019, properties and assets worth more than BGN 3 billion have been seized, which is equivalent to more than € 1.5 billion.
“The damaged economic interests have also been reflected in attacks on the independence of the judiciary, in particular the prosecution, including those of a media and political nature,” the letter to MEPs said.
It should be noted that the information about the connections of the BOEC association with the banker Tsvetan Vassilev, who has been hiding in Serbia for six years, is obvious. He is accused along with 17 other people of withdrawing 3.5 billion BGN from the bankrupt Corporate Commercial Bank.
“It can be very reasonably assumed that the actions of the representatives of this non-governmental organization are in principle motivated precisely by the interests of the defendant Vassilev,” the responses state.
It is also claimed that the General Secretariat of the Council of Europe and the European Committee on Criminal Problems have been notified of the unprecedented delay in the decision on the extradition of Tsvetan Vassilev.
The responses to MEPs also draw attention to the fact that the connection of the oligarch Vasil Bozhkov, who is hiding in the United Arab Emirates, with the organization of part of the protests aimed at radicalization and defamation, including through the use of violent actions, from the just demands of protesting Bulgarian citizens. .
The responses also indicate that the Prosecutor’s Office does not divide pre-trial proceedings into those against representatives of the ruling majority or the opposition, as well as according to the position of the person in question.
“Bulgarian prosecutors and investigators are guided solely by the law and fulfill their duties of conscience and internal conviction. This principle is constitutionally established and guarantees the development of the rule of law and the rule of law in the country,” said the prosecutor’s office .
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