Charges brought against two police officers from Kazanlak for the death of a detainee

The Prosecutor’s Office has pressed charges against two police officers from the Kazanlak District Police Station for the death of a 47-year-old detainee. The man died after being arrested and taken to the Kazanlak Emergency Medical Centre for a medical examination.

The two officers have been charged with the deliberate killing of 47-year-old Daniel Kiskinov on February 26, 2025, in Kazanlak, in complicity as co-perpetrators. On that day, a call was made to the emergency number 112 regarding a bicycle theft from a house in Kazanlak. Police teams, including the accused officers, responded to the scene and found the bicycle in the yard of Daniel's house. When they attempted to arrest him and place handcuffs on him, he became aggressive.

According to collected evidence, the two officers used force against him, resulting in his death. The triple forensic examination concluded that the cause of death was severe combined chest and abdominal trauma. He passed away at a branch of the Emergency Medical Center, where he had been taken for a medical examination.

Immediate investigative actions were taken, with oversight and guidance provided by the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Stara Zagora. Several investigative steps have been carried out, including witness interrogations, expert assessments, crime scene examinations, and the collection of CCTV footage, among others.

The accused were detained for 72 hours by order of the supervising prosecutor. On March 13, 2025, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Stara Zagora will request the court to impose remand measure. If found guilty, they face imprisonment from 15 to 20 years, life imprisonment, or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Dicho Atanasov – Regional Prosecutor of Stara Zagora: "The injuries are really serious, with internal bleeding, and they are incompatible with life. The death did not occur immediately because blood had to accumulate in the abdomen. So, are we saying that he was murdered? Well, yes. That is the charge, and it is murder with particular cruelty."