site.btaProtesters in Sofia Call for Acting Prosecutor General Sarafov’s Resignation
Citizens demanded the resignation of acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov on Tuesday with a protest march from the Sofia Court House to the former National Assembly building. The event was organized by the Justice for All initiative.
According to the organizers, the foundations of democracy are threatened and justice is trampled and cornered. Without independent and transparent judiciary, there is no State, they added. "As of today, Borislav Sarafov is not an acting prosecutor general, but a regular one, and we will prove it,’ attorney Velislav Velichkov, Chair of Justice for All, told the protesters.
Amendments to the Judicial System Act adopted in January limit the period during which someone can serve as acting SAC president or prosecutor general to six months. A new Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) was supposed to be elected by July 21. That council, in turn, was expected to elect a new prosecutor general and a new SAC president. None of this has happened and Georgi Cholakov takes a leave of absence.
However, just a few days ago, the SJC's Prosecutors Chamber decided that the six-month limit does not apply to Sarafov, arguing that it has no retroactive effect and he may stay in office as an acting prosecutor general - a position he has held since June 2023.
Lawyer Petar Slavov explained to the protesters that there would have been no retroactive effect if Sarafov had been in a regular term in office and not as it is now - acting.
/MR/
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