site.btaYes, Bulgaria Submits Alert for Peevski's Alleged Use of Compromising Information for Economic, Political Gain

Yes, Bulgaria Co-Chairs Bozhidar Bozhanov and Ivaylo Mirchev, as well as party member and Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria Co-Floor Leader Nadejda Iordanova filed an alert with acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov and acting Anti-Corruption Commission Chair Anton Slavchev, the Yes, Bulgaria press center said on Thursday. The alert is part of a long-term resistance plan to confront the "captured state" and contains a series of specific allegations in the public domain and journalistic investigations that testify to the growing use of compromising and concealing information about crimes as a tool for political and economic control and undermining the institutional order and the rule of law in the country.

According to the whistleblowers, the effect of these practices is that the prosecution service increasingly depends on factors such as political expediency and the private interests of influential individuals, and the law ceases to apply equally to all.

"The use of compromising information for blackmail and 'shelved case files' to ensure political loyalty leads to a concentration of power in the hands of a certain group of individuals. Institutions are taken over by private interests and informal mechanisms of influence, and the operation of laws and procedures is blocked. From publicly available information, it is becoming increasingly clear that [Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning Floor Leader] Delyan Peevski has both a bank of compromising information and information about crimes committed, and, in addition, influence in the prosecution service, so that no pre-trial proceedings are initiated on the basis of this information until the political moment is right or until the perpetrator cooperates with Peevski's economic and political goals," the Yes, Bulgaria party representatives said.

The party stated that the allegations made in the public domain and in journalistic investigations raise the question of the possible unlawful creation, storage, dissemination, or use of data, including data obtained through special intelligence means, as well as the legality of decisions to initiate or not initiate pre-trial proceedings in the presence of alerts and materials that are referred to in public discourse as "files."

Yes, Bulgaria is adamant that, if such practices are established, they could undermine the principle of the rule of law, insofar as the prosecution service should not depend on political expediency or private interests, and could lead to a concentration of informal influence that hinders the predictable operation of laws and procedures.

The party insists on a complete, comprehensive, and objective investigation, including requesting relevant materials from the competent authorities and structures, tracking the chain of custody and inclusion of media and documents, reviewing practices for the use of special intelligence means in terms of grounds, legality, storage, access, and possible use, as well as an analysis of decisions to initiate or not initiate pre-trial proceedings based on reports and materials publicly referred to as "files." 

Quoting specific articles and paragraphs of the Criminal Code, the alerts states that the investigation "is necessary in view of the publicly available information that raises reasonable doubts about the existence of signs of crimes relating to an organized criminal group in connection with coercion, extortion, and in view of the available evidence of unlawful coercion for financial or other gain, unlawful use of special intelligence means or data extracted from them. In view of the significant public interest aroused by the issues raised, please order the relevant investigative actions within your competence and inform us of the results within the statutory time limit, ensuring transparency, objectivity, and impartiality."