site.btaMP Radostin Vasilev Acquitted of Extortion Charges

The Sofia City Court (SCC) on Tuesday fully acquitted MP Radostin Vasilev, leader of the Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh) party, of attempted extortion charges. The judgment can be appealed by the prosecution within 15 days.

The indictment against Vasilev was submitted to the Court on July 4, 2024. According to the prosecution case, on June 13, 2022 he attempted to coerce by threats Hristinka Ivanova, contrary to her persuasions and against her will, to leave the There Is Such a People (TISP) Parliamentary Group in the 47th National Assembly and to resign as MP.

The SCC panel held that there was no evidence of the perpetration of coercion. The prosecution argued for a four-month conditional sentence with a three-year probationary period. After the acquittal was delivered, prosecutor Yordan Petrov declined comment to the media.

"Whoever has decided to get into this and fight skullduggery should expect such things," Vasilev told journalists, referring the case against him.