The former mayor of Mladost District in Sofia Desislava Ivancheva is released on bail of BGN 10,000. This happened after 8 months in custody and a year and a half under house arrest.
Today, the Supreme Court of Cassation made the decision after Ivancheva, her former deputy Biliana Petrova and former Mladost district mayor Petko Dyulgerov appealed their convictions for demanding bribery from construction contractor Alexander Vaklin. The motive for the lighter measure is Ivancheva’s pregnancy.
„I will probably ask people for help so that we can raise the money so that I can be outside. Although this is not a small thing, the court did, you know how much we were held, so I have mixed feelings – happy that I will be able to go out, but at the same time I’m worried that the money is a lot.
The trial on the merits was not given today, as the defense demanded that the court request information from the Supreme Judicial Council for a disciplinary case against the head of the Special Court of Appeal Georgi Ushev, who also presided over the court panel, which confirmed the convictions of Ivancheva, Petrova and Dyulgerov, although in a greatly reduced version.
The trial was preceded by a spectacular arrest in the capital’s center, which was referred to the European Court of Human Rights. On April 17, 2018, Ivancheva and Petrova were arrested and handcuffed for hours at the crossroads to the Ministry of Sports. The current Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev and the current Consul Plamen Georgiev personally led the operation. At that time, the former was the head of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office, and the latter was the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission. Marked money was found in the car of the two women.
Marked banknotes – but in a much more discreet operation, investigators also found the former regional mayor of „Mladost“ Dyulgerov. According to the prosecution, he mediated between Ivancheva and Petrova and blackmailed Alexander Vaklin.
The specialized criminal court sentenced Ivancheva to 20 years in prison, Petrova to 15 years and Dyulgerov to 12 years in prison. They were overturned by the special court of second instance, which reduced them to 8.7 and 6 years in prison, respectively.
Ivancheva and Petrova were released shortly before Christmas 2018, and they were under „house arrest“.
The case reached the Supreme Court of Cassation, as both the prosecution and the defendants were dissatisfied with the sentences.
