site.btaSupreme Court Sends Varna Mayor's Case to Varna Court

The Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) has ruled that the case against Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev and four co-defendants will be heard by the Varna Regional Court, rather than the Sofia City Court. The ruling was published on the SCC website Wednesday. It is not subject to appeal.

Earlier the same day, the Sofia City Court terminated the proceedings against the Varna Mayor and his co-defendants and referred the case to the Supreme Court of Cassation to determine which court has jurisdiction.

The court explained that although the Sofia City Court is normally the only court authorized to handle cases involving individuals with immunity - which was the reason for Kotsev's case to be referred to Sofia City Court in the first place -  this case does not include charges against a person with immunity. The indictment mentions that a member of parliament had conspired with the defendants, but because the MP is unidentified, no charges have been brought. In addition, the materials related to the MP have been separated into a different criminal proceeding.

The Supreme Court also noted that all five defendants are from Varna, and 25 out of the 28 witnesses are also from the same city.

Here is what to know about the Kotsev case:

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. The pre-trial proceedings are now over but the prosecutors still refuse to have him released from custody. Kotsev's defence counsel have filed a new release application but it is not clear when the court - and which court - will consider it.

Kotsev's Continue the Change party insist that his 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. The Renew Europe group in the European Parliament where Continue the Change is affiliated,  sees Kotsev's extended detention as "an onslaught on democratic institutions and rule of law in Bulgaria".