Sofia City Court Terminates Case Against Former PM Kiril Petkov and “Yes, Bulgaria” Co-Chair Bozhidar Bozhanov (update)

The Sofia City Court has terminated the proceedings against Bozhidar Bozhanov and Kiril Petkov, returning the indictment to the prosecution due to what it described as substantial procedural violations and ambiguities.

Petkov was charged in late October last year with coercion against the former Minister of Electronic Governance in the “Denkov” cabinet, Alexander Yolovski. Bozhanov was accused of abuse of office in connection with a public procurement procedure.

According to the court, the structure of the indictment is so complex and hypothetical that it leads to the conclusion that the prosecution itself lacks clarity regarding the exact nature of the charges.

A new attempt to start the trial against Kiril Petkov and Bozhidar Bojanov
Following the ruling, Bozhanov described the case as a “political attack”, stating that he has nothing to worry about and has waived his parliamentary immunity at the earliest possible moment.

He added that he would do so again if it is requested in future, and described the case as “entirely fabricated” and “having nothing to do with reality”.

Marina Nenkova, prosecutor at the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office, stated that the case team will review the court’s reasoning in detail before deciding whether to file a protest with the Sofia Court of Appeal.

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