site.btaSupreme Judicial Council Prosecutors' Chamber Defers Decision on Temporary Suspension of Sofia City Prosecution Office Acting Head

The Prosecutors' Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Wednesday postponed until its next meeting a decision on whether to temporarily suspend Emilia Rusinova, the acting administrative head of the Sofia City Prosecution Office. The item had been added to the agenda as an extraordinary item earlier in the day.

Earlier on Wednesday, Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov said he had submitted a reasoned request to the Prosecutors' Chamber seeking Rusinova's temporary suspension pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against her.

In April, former caretaker justice minister Andrey Yankulov announced that a proposal had been submitted to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Rusinova. The proposal was based on allegations that she had crossed Bulgaria's border twice together with former investigator Petar "The Euro" Petrov and Kristian Hristov at a time when the The Eight Dwarfs case had already become public. Yankulov said information had already emerged at the time that preliminary inquiries had been opened to establish the facts surrounding the case.

"We postponed the matter to ensure Rusinova's right to defence. It is one of the most fundamental rights and is enshrined in all legislation providing for sanctions," Prosecutors' Chamber member Evgeni Ivanov told journalists after the meeting.

He added that Rusinova would be sent the justice minister's decisions so that she could review them and, if she wished, submit a written opinion or appear before the Prosecutors' Chamber in person.