Former Deputy Mayor of Sofia Nikola Barbutov Remains in Custody

Former deputy mayor of Sofia Nikola Barbutov will remain in detention, the court has ruled.

Judges concluded that the grounds for the charges have not been weakened, but rather reinforced by newly gathered evidence.

Yesterday, prosecutors submitted new materials to the court, including expert analyses of chat messages extracted from the defendants’ mobile phones.

According to the court, these conversations included discussions about press briefings held by the mayors of the “Lyulin” and “Mladost” districts, as well as concerns that Barbutov might face criminal charges following those events.

This, the appellate judges said, provided sufficient basis to maintain the assumption that Barbutov committed the corruption offences he is accused of, an assumption now supported by additional evidence.

The court further ruled that the risk of Barbutov committing a new offence if released remains significant.

Daniela Barbutovа, the wife of the former deputy mayor, described the situation as “a humiliation”:

“It’s as if you’re watching the person you love being beaten in front of you while you’re tied up. It’s a disgrace. The court once again referred to material selectively presented by the prosecution and left Barbutov in custody.”

Yuliyan Lefterov, a prosecutor with the Sofia Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, commented:

“This is a technical expert report based on mobile devices seized during the investigation. It contains communication between the defendants and between the defendants and witnesses. Public procurement contracts and financial sums were discussed. The court cited exchanges between the accused Barbutov and co-defendant Rafailov as evidence that the risk of further criminal activity is not hypothetical, but real.”

Source: BGNES