First sitting of SJC on the early dismissal of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev

The procedure for the requested early dismissal of Prosecutor General, Ivan Geshev, started on June 1. Prosecutor General did not appear at the meeting of the SJC and requested through his lawyer an adjournment and suspension of the procedure.

On May 12, six members of the prosecutors' college of the Supreme Judicial Council submitted a motion for Geshev's dismissal, arguing that he had violated his duties. According to them, he did so by ordering the deputy director of the investigation service, Yassen Todorov, to bring an Israeli counter-terrorism specialist to the scene of the attack against him. It was decided to question Borislav Sarafov (Deputy Prosecutor General and head of National Investigation Service), Yassen Todorov (deputy head of National Investigation Service) and the Israeli specialist in the case.

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The sitting of the magistrates took place in the absence of Ivan Geshev, who was at that time participating in an international conference in Bourgas. Through his lawyer, he requested an adjournment. His lawyer was also absent for health reasons. The request was rejected by 14 votes to 9.

The defence's request to suspend the proceedings was also rejected, as there is a referral to the Constitutional Court as to whether the current judicial council with an expired term in office can take legitimate decisions.

"It seems to me that today's request to suspend the proceedings was untenable," caretaker Justice Minister Krum Zarkov said.

In Bourgas, Geshev refused to answer questions. According to him, there is evidence for two of the members of the prosecutor's college, who signed the motion for the chief prosecutor's early dismissal, Yordan Stoev and Georgi Kuzmanov, that they signed the motion under undue influence exerted on them by third parties.

At the sitting, it became clear that Prosecutor No. 1 had sent an 11-count motion for evidence in the case involving an Israeli anti-terrorism expert admitted in the searches after the explosion next to the car in which the chief prosecutor was travelling. Geshev claims that he did not commit any breach of his duties, because on 1 May, when the incident occurred, the duties of the chief prosecutor were performed by his deputy, Borislav Sarafov, and the order to do so was issued on 24 April.

The Prosecutor General asked for a hearing with the heads of the national investigation - Borislav Sarafov and the deputy Yassen Todorov, as well as the anti-terrorism expert from Israel. Attached were also several media publications in connection with his allegations of bias and partiality of the members of the SJC who made the proposal for his removal from office. Regarding the words "political rubbish", Geshev claimed that the proposal was signed under pressure from some members of the prosecutors’ college.

"I believe that the motion is inadmissible as the same was submitted by four members of the SJC which five-year term had expired before the date of the submission."

"With regard to two of the signatories from the Prosecutor’s College of the SJC, namely Mr. Yordan Stoev and Mr. Georgi Kuzmanov, there is evidence that they signed the motion under undue influence exerted on them by third parties."

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The two magistrates did not comment on the allegations after the end of the sitting, and Geshev explained his words about political rubbish:

"The expression "political rubbish" used by me is a collective noun without any specifics. It is a general term with a figurative, not literal, meaning, and is widely used in everyday life. The expression has an abstract meaning and is in no way directed at specific persons engaged in political activity, nor at specific representatives of political parties or representatives of the legislature. Therefore, my repeated use of this expression does not and could not constitute an offensive qualification towards anyone. The expression is devoid of personal individualisation and it is more than clear that it is grammatically constructed in the singular and, as a collective noun, it is used to refer collectively rather than individually."

During the meeting, caretaker Justice Minister Krum Zarkov announced that he had affixed the state seal to President Rumen Radev's decree for promulgation of the law introducing a mechanism for investigating alleged crimes by the Prosecutor General. The new texts stipulate that the top prosecutor can be dismissed from his or her post with at least 13 votes instead of the current 17.

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"Attacking a law does not stop its implementation. It will go into effect early next week. Yes there is a request to refer it to the Constitutional Court.. We will see if it will be implemented. For its part, the Ministry of Justice will defend the bill before the Constitutional Court. This will not stop its implementation," Zarkov said.

He did not speculate on how many sittings the SJC will have before a vote is held on terminating Geshev's term in office.

"The speed at which the procedure moves and when the final decision is reached depends to a large extent on the will of the majority in the SJC," Krum Zarkov said.

This is not the first attempt to remove Ivan Geshev from the post. Last summer, after nearly 14 hours of debate, the SJC refused to terminate the term in office of the chief prosecutor - with 16 votes “against” and only two “in favour”.

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