site.btaCourt Denies Early Release of Evelin "Brendo" Banev

The Sofia City Court has refused to grant early release to Evelin Banev, also known as Brendo. The request was submitted by the head of Sofia Prison. The ruling is not final.

The court found that from Banev's total 10-year sentence, the time he spent in pre-trial detention and under house arrest - two years, two months and six days, must be deducted. This period is shorter than the three years, nine months and two days calculated by prison officials due to an inadmissible duplication of time.

The judges concluded that Banev has not served more than half of his sentence, which is a basic legal requirement for early release, and therefore there were no grounds to assess the second condition related to good behaviour.

Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska said Banev had not provided indisputable evidence that the sentence served had achieved its corrective purpose.

A Sofia prison inspector argued that Banev had served half of his sentence and that the objectives of the punishment had been met.

Banev's lawyer presented evidence of awards received in prison for good behaviour and work, including additional visiting time. The defence also noted that Banev has health issues related to his thyroid and spine.

According to the defence, Banev has committed no offences while in prison, presents a low risk of reoffending, and has demonstrated significant positive change, including cooperation with prison staff, work as a gym cleaner and completion of a religious course.

In late February, the court terminated an earlier early-release procedure after the request, initially filed by the prison governor, was withdrawn in court by an authorised representative following the governor's temporary suspension.

Evelin "Brendo" Banev was arrested in 2012 in a Bulgarian-Italian law enforcement operation and in 2013 received a 20-year prison sentence in Italy for involvement in an international cocaine-trafficking ring. In July 2018, the Sofia City Prosecution Office issued a European Arrest Warrant to locate him so he could serve a six-year prison sentence, after he was not found at his known addresses and his whereabouts were unknown.

Banev, who has been wanted under Interpol Red Notices since 2018, surrendered to the Bulgarian authorities on June 24, 2024 and was taken to Sofia’s Central Prison. In the days that followed, he asked the Bulgarian court to let him serve in Bulgaria the sentences imposed on him in Italy and Romania, and Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria sought a parliamentary hearing of caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov over Banev’s appearance at Sofia Central Prison.

At the hearing in Parliament on June 28, 2024, Stoyanov said the Interior Ministry had information that Banev entered Bulgaria by plane between late March 2022 and early June 2022.

In April 2025, SCC ruled that Banev will serve a total prison sentence of ten years and six months in Bulgaria for crimes committed in Bulgaria, Romania and Italy, with time already served in detention in Italy and in Sofia deducted from the term. The court noted that the Italian authorities had not provided the reasoning behind their sentence and that communication with them had been slow.