Omar Adnan, the Syrian driver, who is the sole defendant in the case concerning the deaths of two Bourgas police officers, Yordan Iliev and Atanas Gradev, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The officers were run over by a bus full of migrants while attempting to stop it during the summer of 2022. The sentence was handed down by the Burgas District Court.
The magistrates described the act as particularly serious and found the crime to be intentional.
The prosecution asked for life imprisonment for the foreigner, which is the most severe punishment for the crime.
It was revealed that Omar Adnan did not take measures to avoid the collision, despite having the opportunity to do so. He exceeded the speed limit by 38 km/h, fled the scene, and concealed his real age for nearly 2 years.
The defence of the accused requested a lighter sentence of 15 years in prison, citing his clean criminal record, young age, and claims that he tried to avoid the collision.
Panayot Gradev, the father of the deceased Atanas Gradev:
"I was very surprised by this decision. We wanted a life imprisonment sentence, but they gave him 20 years. I think, he should have been given 5 years and then given a machine gun to kill all of us."
Kalin Yanev, lawyer for Omar Adnan:
"The court took into account my arguments and considerations that there are several mitigating circumstances, and for this reason, it handed down a 20-year sentence. I will assess whether to appeal after discussing it with my client, but at this stage, we are satisfied."
Dimitar Uzunov, supervising prosecutor in the case:
"We are not satisfied with the severity of the punishment. We believe that the gravity of the case requires the most severe penalty. We will prepare an appeal within the statutory deadline."
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Two police officers from the coastal city of Bourgas were killed in the early hours on August 25, 2022, as they tried to stop a bus carrying migrants who had entered Bulgaria illegally.
The incident occurred after the bus refused to stop at two consecutive border police checkpoints in the vicinity of a roundabout.
The two police officers in the car, who tried to obstruct the bus by directly stopping in front of it, were declared dead at the scene.
The bus with Turkish registration plates was transporrting 47 migrants. None of them were injured.
The bus had entered a residential area when the police officers halted their car across the road in front of it. The bus ploughed into the police vehicle and drove over the top of it and smashed into a bus stop.
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