With new arguments: Prosecutor's Office again asks Parliament to lift the immunity of two MPs from DRF-MRF

Additional arguments have been presented for the lifting of the immunity of two Members of Parliament from the 51st Parliament.

On February 4, 2025, new requests for the lifting of the immunities of MPs Dzeyhan Ibrahimov and Mario Rangelov from 'Democracy, Rights and Freedoms - Movement for Rights and Freedoms' (DRF-MRF) were submitted to the registry of the 51st Parliament, according to a statement from the Prosecutor's Office.

"Under the Constitution, Parliament was notified with requests for permission to initiate criminal proceedings against D. Ibrahimov on November 13, 2024, and against M. Rangelov on December 19, 2024. On January 24, 2025, the National Assembly decided to refuse permission to initiate investigations against the individuals with immunity."

The supervising prosecutors from the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office have submitted renewed requests for the lifting of the immunities of D. Ibrahimov and M. Rangelov, arguing that there is still sufficient evidence under Article 219, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Procedure Codeto to hold the two MPs criminally liable and bring charges against them. Several actions have been carried out during the investigations, including searches, seizures, interview of witnesses, and the collection of written and material evidence.

The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office also presented additional arguments for their requests. It is pointed out that a key principle in criminal proceedings is the resolution of cases within a reasonable time, as is the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

The refusal to grant permission for initiating criminal proceedings effectively blocks the path to uncovering the objective truth and hinders the administration of justice, which is not in the public interest, as stated in the requests.

Regarding Dzeyhan Ibrahimov, the accusation is that in October 2019, in Sofia, he requested and accepted a gift, which was not due to him, in order to exert influence on an official at the Ministry of Health to issue a permit for placing a group of biocides on the market.

On September 26, 2024, in Sofia, he misled M.T., claiming that by giving him 400,000 BGN, he would exert influence on officials at the Ministry of Defence regarding their service related to public procurement. On October 2, 2024, he continued to maintain this deception and attempted to cause M.T. property damage, though the attempt remained unfinished due to circumstances beyond Ibrahimov's control.

The request highlights a contradiction in the approach of the National Assembly, as the chairman of the 50th National Assembly had granted permission to initiate criminal proceedings against D. Ibrahimov at the initial stage of the case, while the 51st National Assembly refused to grant such permission despite a much larger volume of evidence.

With regard to M. Rangelov, the supervising prosecutor states that the evidence collected is sufficient to bring him to trial as a defendant: for forming and leading a group for the purpose of committing crimes against the political rights of citizens (crime under Article 169d, paragraph 1, par. 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code); for providing a material benefit and organising the giving of a sum of BGN 15,000 for the purpose of inducing voters to exercise their right to vote in favour of a certain coalition in the parliamentary elections on October 27, 2024.

The request for lifting the immunity of M. Rangelov states that the nature of the crimes being investigated and the stated uncompromising stance of all political entities against violations of citizens' political rights raise heightened public expectations of the fight against such crimes and the authorities responsible for this, in accordance with the Constitution and laws. The legislature should guarantee its legitimacy by dealing uncompromisingly with such acts.

In the case of both MPs, it should be noted that the Criminal Procedure Code regulates the rights of every accused person through the presumption of innocence and specifically provides for the defense rights of the accused as outlined in Article 55 of the Criminal Procedure Code.