site.btaSupreme Court Redirects Varna Mayor’s Trial to Varna as Authorities Order Review of Detention Conditions

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 SCC explained that although the Sofia City Court ordinarily handles cases involving individuals with immunity - as was presumably Kotsev's - no such charges have been included in this case, and the materials referring to an unidentified MP have been separated into a different proceeding. The ruling is final and not subject to appeal.

Earlier the same day, the Sofia City Court, which was supposed to try Kotsev's case, announced terminating the proceedings and petitioned the Supreme Court of Cassation to determine which court should hear the case. 

In a related development, former prime minister Kiril Petkov and Kotsev's fellow member in the Continue the Change party lashed out against the conditions in which the Varna Mayor and former Sofia deputy mayor Nikola Barbutov (also of Continue the Change and also charged with corruption) are currently being held in Sofia prison. Petkov said that one of the detainees has been put in a cell together with a person suffering from Hepatitis B, while the other is kept in a cell at 15°C. He stressed that neither man has been convicted and urged the public to protest what he called an example of injustice.

Deputy Sofia City Prosecutor Angel Kanev said inspectors will carry out checks at the prison following Petkov’s comments. He noted that detention facilities are inspected weekly and that the Prosecution Service is responsible for overseeing how remand measures are implemented. Kanev added that violations in detention conditions have in the past led to staff being dismissed or disciplined and pointed out that Sofia Prison has both a medical centre and a specialized hospital for detainees.

Background: 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".