Court's final ruling: The arrest of GERB leader and former PM, Boyko Borissov, was unlawful

The order for the arrest of GERB leader and former Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borissov, has been conclusively declared unlawful by the court, it becomes clear from a decision of the Sofia Administrative Court on August 24.

The panel upheld the ruling of Sofia District Court from April, that the detention of Boyko Borissov on March 17 was unlawful.

Court revoked the detention order for former Prime Minister Borissov, ordered Ministry of Interior to pay him 310 BGN

On 17 March, 2022, Boyko Borissov, Vladislav Goranov and GERB media adviser Sevdelina Arnaudova were detained in custody and released the next day without being charged. They were arrested by the police in connection with allegations for extortion related to former gambling businessman Vassil Bozhkov (currently in Dubai, but investigated in Bulgaria on multiple criminal charges).

The detention order "does not meet the standard of lawfulness and non-arbitrariness as fundamental general principles in restricting the right to liberty and security," the court's ruling said.

It cited the Constitution, stating that everyone has the right to personal liberty and security, and that no one may be detained, subjected to search or seizure, or subjected to any other invasion of personal security, except under the conditions and in the manner prescribed by law.

In the opinion of the panel of judges, the compulsory administrative measure of 24-hour detention, in addition to being "factually unjustified, is also inconsistent with the purpose of the law". It adds that the detention order does not describe the facts, but merely refers to the number of the pre-trial proceedings and copies a text from the Criminal Code. The order does not indicate 'the facts which have occurred and which have justified the need to apply the compulsory administrative measure'.

The Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs was ordered to pay the costs of the case in the amount of BGN 480.

Later in the day, the leader of GERB commented that he could only thank the people who made this decision in two instances.

"Rather, now that they got rid of the terror in the Council of Ministers, many people began to tell how this ugly scene was actually committed. They knew it was illegal, they knew it was arbitrary. This decision for the arrest was made at an orgy with a lot of whiskey, white wine, pizzas on crystals and fireworks - they ordered with the sole task of dragging me out in front of the children in handcuffs, knowing 100% that they were committing illegal acts. And these are people who are obviously corrupt, who set out to do judicial reform," Borissov said.

He added that the ruling of the Administrative Court was by a panel of judges, in which there cannot be any doubts about its independence.

Former PM Borissov and GERB party members arrested in police operation, supporters stage protest outside his home in Bankya