site.btaJustice Ministry to Defend Magistrates Who Expose Dependencies in Judiciary, Deputy Minister Says

Deputy Justice Minister Tanya Radulovska said on Tuesday that Bulgarian authorities will actively defend any magistrate who decides to speak out about dependencies within the judicial system and about the disclosure of secrets that become public not through the legally established procedure. She was speaking ahead of a meeting of the Judges Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) of Bulgaria.

On Monday, caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov and his team expressed institutional support for a new civic initiative advocating for an independent and free judiciary. In a petition signed by magistrates, lawyers and representatives of other professions, the civic initiative calls on all citizens and professional communities “to stand openly and persistently behind the cause of reclaiming the judiciary from the shadows of lawlessness.”

Radulovska said that the Justice Ministry continues its work in connection with an alert received from the European prosecutor from Bulgaria Teodora Georgieva. The report links Georgieva’s actions as prosecutor in the Chiren Case, towards prosecuting a high-ranking public official, with the anonymous release in March 2025 of a video of a secretly filmed 2020 meeting between Georgieva and Petyo "the Euro" Petrov, a notorious power broker in the Bulgarian judiciary and a fugitive from justice. It was after the video was made public that the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) College started proceedings against Georgieva. The report further states that in April 2025 a senior prosecutor intentionally lied to EPPO officials probing Georgieva's actions, telling them that the Bulgarian authorities had evidence of bribes received by her. The Justice Ministry emphasized that there is no known case in which Georgieva is formally charged with corruption based on evidence held by the Bulgarian prosecution. 

On February 25, 2026, the EPPO College found Georgieva guilty of serious misconduct, as detailed in the opinion of the Disciplinary Board, composed of high-ranking officials, or former officials, of the European institutions, said the EPPO on its website. 

According to Radulovska, the Interior Ministry has been notified about the threats, intimidation and pressure reported by Georgieva. Anton Urumov, who was elected on December 12 as ad hoc prosecutor to investigate crimes allegedly committed by acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov and his deputies, has also been notified, Radulovska said. She explained that Urumov was notified because Georgieva publicly stated that she suspected pressure had been exerted on her by Sarafov.

An urgent meeting has been requested with the leadership of the EPPO, from whom critical information has been sought for analysis in order to determine the next steps. An urgent meeting has also been requested with the European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath. The meetings have not yet been scheduled, Radulovska said.

“At this stage we have not received signals from other magistrates, but we believe that yesterday’s [Monday] stated position will give strength and encouragement to many magistrates to free themselves from dependence and seek the assistance that we are demonstrating we will provide to any Bulgarian magistrate who decides to take that path,” the Deputy Justice Minister emphasized.

Radulovska explained that Georgieva is currently undergoing disciplinary proceedings and bears the consequences of that procedure, expecting the imposition of a penalty. However, this has nothing to do with the information she is providing about influences within the Bulgarian reality. Disciplinary proceedings do not preclude criminal proceedings, Radulovska added.