site.btaAppeals Judge Recuses Himself from Varna Mayor Detention Review after Earlier Withdrawals

Sofia Appellate Court (SAC) Judge Georgi Ushev, who was part of the panel scheduled to review the pre-trial detention measure for the Mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev, has recused himself, the court said on Friday.

Judge Ushev's reasoning is that, in recent years, lawyers from the law firm representing Kotsev have undertaken various actions against him in his capacity as a judge, including filing a complaint requesting disciplinary action to be taken against him.

Given these circumstances — and considering the significant public attention focused specifically on the judges handling the detention measures — Ushev has opted to withdraw from the case, SAC added.

SAC was originally due to review the detention measure on Thursday, but the judicial panel recused itself the day before. Appellate judges Alexander Zhelyazkov, Atanaska Kitipova, and Desislav Lyubomirov cited an unprecedented negative campaign targeting every judge involved in the case as the reason for their recusal.

The Varna Mayor was arrested on July 8 and later charged with involvement with an organized crime group. The case against him has been moved to Sofia. On September 12, the Sofia City Court rejected Kotsev’s request to review his pre-trial detention. Two members of the Varna Municipal Council are also in remand, but they have apparently not asked for a review of the measure. The case has sparked a wave of public protests.