Justice Minister provided security for Deputy Prosecutor General Sarafov (update)

Hours after he said he feared for his life - in conditions of urgency, Deputy Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov was assigned security by the Bureau for the Protection of Magistrates at the Ministry of Justice, BNR reported on May 16.

Caretaker Minister of Justice, Krum Zarkov, explained that at a meeting today the Coordination Council of the Bureau will assess the risk of this threat and, after hearing Sarafov himself, will decide how he will be protected.

Yesterday, Deputy Prosecutor General and Director of the National Investigation Service, Borislav Sarafov, accused Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev of privatizing the Prosecutor's Office and said he feared for his life.

Sarafov called Geshev "unbalanced" and said he feared for his life.

At a briefing, Sarafov called on the Supreme Judicial Council to remove Geshev from the post and asked for personal security to be appointed.

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Yesterday, Deputy Prosecutor General, Borislav Sarafov, said that Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev "thinks he owns the Prosecutor’s Office" and he is ashamed of his behaviour. Sarafov made the statement shortly after Geshev announced that he is not going to step down from the post of Prosecutor General despite pressure on him to do so, and that he expects Sarafov to resign.

Bulgaria’s Prosecutor General determined not to step down, called on his deputy to resign

So that I don't find myself suddenly killed like prosecutor Kolev during the time of another prosecutor general 20 years ago. In this sense, I appeal to the Minister of Justice, Krum Zarkov, so that my physical security can be protected today. Because I know Mr Geshev and that is why I fear for my life. Until today, unlike him, I had a normal life. I used to go to the shops with my wife and my children. Unfortunately, from today, that will not be possible for me and my family, because I know Mr Geshev's methods, Sarafov said.

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On the day of the explosion (May 1) near the armoured car of the chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev, Sarafov explained that the bomb packed with shrapnel was intended to kill Geshev, not to intimidate, and only because of a happy coincidence he was unhurt. The Deputy Prosecutor General also said his boss was in the car with his family, but that turned out to have been a misunderstanding. These misunderstandings have caused frictions between the Prosecutor General and his deputy Borislav Sarafov, with the latter blaming the former for the misunderstandings and for failing to clear them up publicly.

Later, however, during parliamentary scrutiny, caretaker Minister of Interior Ivan Demerdzhiev said that Prosecutor General Geshev was only with his bodyguard and driver in the car. According to the minister, Geshev uses the most protected car available to the state, more protected even than the President’s. Demerdzhiev also pointed out that the explosion only damaged the headlight of Geshev’s car.

After caretaker minister’s statement, Geshev spoke for the first time six days after the accident, placing the blame for the conflicting information on deputy Prosecutor General, Sarafov.

Deputy Prosecutor General and head of National Investigative Service, Borislav Sarafov, explained in a position that he was misled when he said that Geshev's family were in the car.

"Being aware of the interest of the Bulgarian public in the case of the explosion near the car of the Prosecutor General, I would like to provide clarification in order to stop manipulations on the subject," Sarafov said.

He clarified what he had said at the briefing on May 1, that "it was a fluke that the Prosecutor General, his family and a number of other people passing through the area were intact", as he was misled by Ivan Geshev's words that "he was worried about his children".

Sarafov said that he sincerely regrets if he has created the wrong idea that Geshev's family was travelling with him. He noted that a more careful inspection of the events would reveal with accuracy who was travelling in the car at the time of the incident.

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