site.btaContinue the Change Express Indignation at Varna Mayor's Transfer to Prison, Sofia City Prosecution Office Says Its Lawful Procedure

The Continue the Change (CC) party expressed on Monday strong indignation at the decision for the lawfully elected Varna Mayor, Blagomir Kotsev, to be transferred from the detention facility to prison - against the backdrop of the court’s refusal to consider the request submitted by his defence for a change of his remand measure, and in the absence of a final conviction. On the same grounds, former Sofia deputy mayor Nikola Barbutov has also been transferred, the CC said in a statement published on Facebook.

The Sofia City Prosecution Office told BTA that this is the lawful procedure – when the case against a defendant held in permanent detention enters the judicial phase, i.e. the investigation has been completed, the defendant is transferred to the relevant prison. Art. 244 (1) of the Implementation of Penal Sanctions and Detention in Custody Act reads: The accused and the defendants shall be sent to the prisons on a written warrant of the competent prosecutor after the investigative body has drawn up a written opinion, or on a written warrant by the judge after the indictment has been submitted to the court.

On Thursday, the Sofia City Prosecution Office submitted an indictment against Kotsev to the Sofia City Court. He will stand trial together with four co-defendants charged for conspiring to commit bribery and coercion in order to obtain an economic benefit. Barbutov, charged with participation in an organized criminal group and offering a bribe, was indicted a day later.

"Such synchronized actions raise serious questions about the observance of the principles of the rule of law and about whether a dangerous precedent is being created, in which administrative decisions outpace or render judicial oversight meaningless. This concerns fundamental constitutional guarantees – the presumption of innocence, the right to defence, and the right to a fair trial," Continue the Change's statement reads.

The party called for full transparency in the cases and for strict adherence to the law. “Bulgarian citizens have the right to institutions that act independently, consistently and without political motives, and justice must be a guarantee, not a threat,” CC added.

Elected mayor on the ticket of the opposition Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria in November 2023 - one of very few opposition mayors, including also that of Sofia, Kotsev was arrested on July 8 following a tip-off for corruption by a failed public procurement tenderer. He was charged with participation in an organized criminal group accused of engaging in abuse of office, bribery and money laundering. The court has consistently rejected his applications for release from custody, and accepted the prosecutors' argument that he may interfere while the pre-trial proceedings were going on. On Wednesday, November 12, his deputy Pavel Popov said Kotsev will be running Varna Municipality from behind bars after the order naming Popov to sit in for him expired on November 1.

Kotsev has denied any wrongdoing and insists that he is the victim of political repression. The last time he lost an appeal of his detention, one dissenting judge wrote in the reasoning that the reasonable assumption of Kotsev's involvement in the crimes is not currently strong enough to justify keeping him in custody. He concluded that Kotsev should be released on his own recognizance, but the other two judges thought otherwise. Supporters say Kotsev's arrest is part of a government campaign targeting the opposition. Large-scale protests in his support have been staged in Varna, Sofia and other major cities.