The court in Edirne has sentenced a Turkish national to life imprisonment for the killing of Bulgarian border police officer Petar Bachvarov in 2022, the Bulgarian Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. The defendant, whose name is not specified, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder of the officer who was on guard duty with Bachvarov at the time of the fatal shooting at the Bulgarian-Turkish border.
There are two defendants in the case: Engin Erguvan, 36, and his brother Mustafa Erguvan, 30. The prosecution pleaded for life imprisonment for Engin Erguvan, who allegedly fired the shot, and for a 9 to 15 years' prison sentence for Mustafa Erguvan.
BTA correspondent in Ankara Nora Cholakova quoted Turkish media as saying that the defendant M. E. was acquitted.
Bachvarov’s father commented, as quoted by OdaTV, that justice has prevailed.
The Deputy Director of Bulgaria’s Border Police, Chief Commissioner Petar Dzhigov, commented that the court ruling had been expected and that they are satisfied with the sentences.
Bachvarov was shot dead on November 7, 2022 while patrolling the border with Turkiye near the village of Golyam Dervent. The autopsy showed that Bachvarov had been hit with hunting shotgun pellets, which ruled out the possibility of a shootout between Bulgarian and Turkish border police. The main lead followed by Bulgarian and Turkish investigators was that Bachvarov was shot by a Turkish national attempting to steal livestock.
/RY/
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