Parliament heard the caretaker Minister of the Interior over the “Petrohan” case, amid allegations of political pressure on investigators.
Before MPs, the head of the Criminal Police Department at the National Police, Chief Commissioner Angel Papalezhov, denied that he had been pressured by the caretaker Minister of Interior, Emil Dechev.
The caretaker minister rejected accusations that he had exerted influence over investigators working on the “Petrohan” case, stating: “It is quite clear that there are frightened individuals attacking me because they do not want me to learn the truth about the Petrohan case.”
Caretaker Interior Minister Dechev: I Will Not Interfere in the “Petrohan” and “Okolchitsa” Investigations
However, the outgoing Chief Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, Miroslav Rashkov, said he had been informed of a meeting requested by the minister with a senior police officer.
Rashkov told MPs that on 22 February he had been notified by Senior Commissioner Emil Parmakov, Deputy Director of the General Directorate 'National Police', that the previous evening the caretaker minister had contacted Commissioner Papalezhov by telephone to request a meeting. According to Rashkov, the meeting took place later that day at a restaurant in Sofia, where Papalezhov provided a briefing note concerning the “Petrohan” and “Okolchitsa” cases.
Papalezhov confirmed the meeting but firmly denied any pressure. He said the information he provided was a brief summary of details already made public at two press conferences and that no additional questions had been put to him regarding investigative lines or individual officers. “I would like to stress that at no point did I feel compelled to do anything beyond my official duties,” he said.
Prosecutor's Office Received Two Reports by Senior Officials of the Ministry of Interior Alleging Pressure by the Caretaker Minister of Interior
Papalezhov confirmed the meeting but denied any pressure. He said the information he provided was a brief summary of details already made public at two press conferences and that no additional questions had been put to him regarding investigative lines or individual officers. “I would like to stress that at no point did I feel compelled to do anything beyond my official duties,” he said.
Caretaker Minister Dechev explained that the document he received did not breach investigative secrecy or Interior Ministry procedures, adding that only he and Papalezhov had been present at the meeting.
Emil Dechev, caretaker Minister of Interior: “This document, around 11 pages in length, does not disclose anything beyond what has been authorised by the supervising prosecutor. At that meeting, only Mr Papalezhov and I were present — no one else.”
The hearing was marked by sharp exchanges between parties.
Hristo Gadzhev of GERB-UDF: “If you need a quick briefing, why would you need someone to come to you in a restaurant? How can a minister influence an investigation? Even someone who is not a professional in the Ministry of Interior can exert influence over personnel matters.”
Ivaylo Mirchev of We continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria: “The circus has been postponed. The theatre is terrible. Instead of a performance of the people, it’s amateur dramatics from the local community hall ‘Overexcitement’—very weak. The chief secretary can’t even read through the full text that’s been broadcast on national television.”
Kostadin Kostadinov of Vazrazhdane:“We should be asking ourselves whether there is an attempt to sweep this under the carpet, an attempt to obstruct, an attempt to shield certain evidence. The sole responsibility of the caretaker Interior Minister at the moment is to ensure a fair and transparent electoral process — not to question police officers working on the ‘Petrohan’ case about anything at all, because I am convinced the minister understands nothing about their work.
And of course, the first thing a new minister does is start asking officers what they are doing and how they are doing it. You have no right, Mr Minister, to interfere in their work — no right whatsoever — because you do not understand what they do.”
Yordan Tsonev of MRF – New Beginning: “Mr Minister, today’s hearing made one thing perfectly clear — that you are attempting to exert improper influence over individuals whom the law has entrusted with the high responsibility of seeing this investigation through, in the name of justice and for the sake of our children.”
Toshko Yordanov of There Is Such a People:“We had a typical hearing, in which on one side were ordinary people who want the truth about ‘Petrohan’ to come out, and on the other side stood an entire political party, We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria, attempting to blur the discussion and dilute the key points. The tone was set by the caretaker minister himself, who is also from We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria.”
Other parliamentary parties did not participate in the hearing.
Чуй новините
Подкаст
