site.btaUPDATED Supreme Judicial Council Opens Early Dismissal Procedure for Prosecutor General Geshev

At a meeting on Thursday scheduled by caretaker Justice Minister Kiril Zarkov, Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) voted, 14-4, to initiated a procedure for the early dismissal of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev. Geshev did not attend the SJC meeting.

Meanwhile, administration officials served on Geshev a second motion for his dismissal that had been entered by six members of the SJC Prosecutors Chamber: Georgi Kuzmanov, Kalina Chapkanova, Gergana Mutafova, Svetlana Boshnakova, Ognyan Damyanov, and Yordan Stoev.

Commenting on the declaration requesting Geshev's removal, Chapkanova said at the beginning of the meeting that the SJC is the platform where the voice of truth can be heard and that repressive and semi-legal actions are being taken against those who are wanted out. "The idea is to demotivate us," said Chapkanova.

During the meeting, it became clear that Geshev will be represented by lawyer Radostina Tomova.

Geshev asked for the recusal of the six submitters of the motion. He pointed out that if they did not do so, it would be better for a special committee to rule. "They have no moral right to participate in the procedure," Geshev said.

"Certain individuals are trying to turn the rule of law into a ragged shirt, and I will do everything I can to prevent that from happening. An attempt was made to threaten me with a recording so that I would resign. This recording was not made by me, and this is what I said within an investigation into trade in influence and corruption in the Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office," Geshev said.

According to him, the six members requesting his dismissal are an isolated circle of people who may be pursuing other goals that are contrary to the interests of the judiciary and the rule of law.

Ultimately, no one was recused.

The SJC Plenum will hear Geshev and Deputy Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov on an alert submitted by Sarafov. By a vote of 4 to 13, the SJC refused to hear other deputies of Geshev about Sarafov's alert even though they were invited to attend.

SJC member Veronika Imova said that the statement in which GERB-UDF prime minister Mariya Gabriel said that, if elected, her justice minister will first thing open a procedure for Geshev's premature release, was "impudent and inadmissible".