European Chief Prosecutor Kovesi, EC condemn assassination attempt against Bulgarian Prosecutor General

The European Commission and European Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, condemned the attempted assassination on Bulgaria’s Prosecutor General, Ivan Geshev. The two institutions expect the Bulgarian authorities to take all necessary measures to investigate the case and bring those responsible to justice.

The European Commission called the case disgusting and called on the Bulgarian authorities to act swiftly and decisively. The institution has so far refrained from commenting on the motives for the attack.

"The European Commission strongly condemns the attempted bomb attack against the Bulgarian Prosecutor General. This is a senseless and cowardly act of violence that has no place in our society. We expect the national authorities to swiftly and decisively bring the perpetrators of this criminal act to justice. At this stage, we are in no position to speculate what the motives for the attack were," said Anitta Hipper, spokesperson for the European Commission.

In a statement, European Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, also condemned the attempted attack on Geshev.

“Yesterday, an explosive device detonated on the way of the convoy of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria. I condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack against the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria and wish Mr Geshev and his family to recover from this traumatizing incident. In the European Union, criminals who dare to target any member of the judiciary should be considered extremely dangerous and combatted with utmost determination. I trust the Bulgarian police forces, prosecutors and judges to take all the necessary measures to protect the rule of law and independence of the judiciary in Bulgaria, and to spare no effort until the whole light is shed on what happened, who is responsible and how it could come to this," said Laura Kövesi, European Chief Prosecutor.

Tomorrow, May 3, the Commission is expected to present measures to strengthen the fight against corruption in the EU and facilitate cross-border investigations. In July, Brussels will also present annual reports on the rule of law in member states. One of the criticisms of Bulgaria in previous reports is the lack of criminal accountability for the prosecutor general.