site.btaDocuments on Stoyan Mavrodiev's Extradition Sent to Serbian Embassy in Sofia, Says Justice Minister

The documents for the extradition of Stoyan Mavrodiev from Serbia to Bulgaria for criminal prosecution have been sent to the Serbian Embassy in Sofia, Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov told a briefing here on Thursday. In his words, the procedure follows strictly formal rules and there is no need for him to talk with his Serbian counterpart on the matter.  

Former executive director of the Bulgarian Development Bank Stoyan Mavrodiev was detained in Serbia on June 3. He has been placed on an international wanted list based on a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Sofia City Court at the request of the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office and confirmed by the Appellate Court in Sofia. A request for his extradition was signed by acting Prosecutor General Vanya Stefanova, the prosecution service reported on June 5.

Ahead of Thursday's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Plenum meeting, Naydenov said that over the past three weeks, during which Parliament had given all interested parties the opportunity to submit comments on the procedure for selecting the new members of the Supreme Judicial Council, a sufficient number of comments had been received to be discussed and analyzed, so that no hasty decisions would be made. He added that a committee in the National Assembly will review the comments next week. 

The Justice Minister also commented on the topic of there being no Bulgarian prosecutor at the European Public Prosecutor's Office, which he described as very concerning. On Wednesday, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) held a hearing on the appeals filed by candidates from the previous selection process for a European Prosecutor from Bulgaria. Once the decision is issued, the Justice Minister said he would take the necessary steps to complete the process as quickly as possible. He clarified that the issue involving Teodora Georgieva, the current European Prosecutor from Bulgaria who was temporarily suspended from office, is a problem for Bulgaria and is related not to her selection process, but to the subsequent interference by the government at that time. 

Prior to the SJC Plenum meeting, the Boec civil association staged a protest in front of the SJC building demanding the resignation of the current Council members.