The influence between politicians and magistrates is two-way, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev told the Bulgarian National Radio on Sunday. “Both authorities are trying to enter the other's turf and establish control there. On the one hand, politicians through the legislature are trying to enter deep into the judiciary and influence magistrates, and on the other hand, some magistrates are trying to influence certain politicians or political circles through proceedings they have put on hold,” he argued, adding that the practice of “shelved cases” such as "Barcelonagate" show it.
Demerdzhiev expressed belief that this practice could be stopped with legislative amendments that would discipline the prosecution in closing cases. “For example, by publishing the legal acts of the Prosecutor's Office so that they become public knowledge or by giving the Interior Ministry the power to investigate magistrates and persons with immunity. Then, when there are parallel competences in more than one structure, at least one of them will go further, will do its job and will have real results in the fight against corruption, especially at the high levels of all three authorities,” he further said.
There should be dialogue and communication between politicians and magistrates, but it should be clean, not commenting on specific proceedings, facts and circumstances related to pre-trial proceedings or procedures that could be influenced, Demerdzhiev pointed out. Dialogue between politicians and magistrates is necessary, but it should be aimed only at the most general coordination of processes to achieve results, not at distorting the results of pre-trial proceedings, he explained.
On the occasion of the latest developments in the Prosecutor's Office, the Interior Minister commented that Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev and his deputy Borislav Sarafov have practically admitted practices and facts that have long been talked about in the legal community. “Many people, including myself, have pointed out these problems over the years, we wanted them to be seen and to be understood that these problems harm not only the prosecution, not only the judiciary, they harm the whole country. They have been glossed over and, in fact, they were acknowledged at the beginning of last week. The fact that they have been acknowledged by the magistrates themselves has given the impression that these problems are now a fact. They were a fact years ago, but they were cleverly concealed and covered up,” Demerdzhiev said.
Demerdzhiev also commented on the explosion near the car of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev, saying that the investigation is getting closer to the truth and that he and the Interior Ministry will do everything necessary to get to it.
„It was an assault. Whether it was to intimidate or to physically liquidate the Prosecutor General, this was an unacceptable assault. I don't want to commit myself to specific versions, but in light of everything that has been heard, for me personally it was more likely to be an action aimed at warning or intimidating the Prosecutor General,” the Interior Minister said.
/MR/
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