site.btaParliament Rejects Establishment of Temporary Committee on Petrohan Case

Parliament rejected, with 61 votes in favour, three against and 126 abstentions, a draft resolution by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) on the creation of a temporary committee to establish facts and circumstances, and possible influence on state bodies by the National Protected Areas Control Agency (NPACA), as well as regarding the unregulated activities of the group operating in the area of the Petrohan lodge.

The proposal was backed by 19 MRF MPs, 18 Democratic Bulgaria (DB) MPs, 13 Continue the Change (CC) MPs, 10 Vazrazhdane MPs and 1 GERB-UDF MP. A total of 124 Progressive Bulgaria (PB) MPs abstained, as well as 1 MP each from DB and CC. Three PB MPs voted against.

It was proposed that the temporary committee consist of 12 members elected on a parity basis - two from each parliamentary group - and that its term of operation be three months.

According to the sponsors, the Petrohan case goes beyond the framework of an ordinary criminal act and has turned into a matter of significant public and institutional resonance. Published investigations and analyses raise the question of whether the group in question represents an isolated, closed community or part of a broader network involving individuals with influence in the country’s public, political and economic life, the reasoning states. According to them, the establishment of the committee is necessary not only to clarify the specific case, but also to identify systemic deficiencies that allowed such a structure to emerge, including possibilities for unregulated influence over state institutions, circumvention of the law, and the creation of parallel mechanisms of power and financing.

It was a high-profile criminal case in which five men and a 15-year-old boy met a violent death between February 1 and 8, 2026. Their bodies were found in two remote mountain locations in Northwestern Bulgaria: a lodge near the Petrohan Pass and a camper van near Okolchitsa Peak. Forensic experts established that all six died of gunshot wounds. Law enforcement officials said that, based on ballistics findings, the causes of death have been identified as suicide at the lodge and homicide and suicide in the camper. The deceased were associated with a non-governmental conservation group called National Protected Areas Control Agency.

DB Deputy Floor Leader Bozhidar Bozhanov said his parliamentary group would support the establishment of such a committee. "We repeatedly insisted on receiving such information in the previous parliament, but at the time the sponsors from MRF were against it, while There Is Such a People abstained," he added.

CC Floor Leader Nikolay Denkov said: "The way you have formulated this proposal shows that you want to continue playing your political game. So as not to help you, we will also vote in favour."

PB Floor Leader Petar Vitanov announced that the parliamentary group would not support the establishment of such a temporary committee, which is being used for political PR.