Illegal construction of the mother of the politician Delyan Dobrev illuminates a number of violations of the Bratsigovo Municipality administration and arouses suspicions of special treatment by the prosecutor’s office and the court.
In September 2023, Zlatka Dobreva began intensive construction on a municipal property in the Atoluka area near the Rhodope village of Ravnogor. This is despite the fact that the design visa was declared void by the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) a few months earlier, and the building permit issued on the basis of the void visa has not yet come into force as is the subject of a pending legal dispute.
“From a legal point of view, the case is clear: the construction activity is illegal and Bratsigovo Municipality should have taken the necessary measures and stopped it”, said Daniela Peneva, legal expert at ACF.
For years, however, the municipality not only did not take any measures, but even repeatedly ignored the instructions of the Directorate for National Construction Control (DNSC) and the regional directorate of RDNSC-Pazardzhik. As a result, today in the resort area there is an almost finished two-story villa, built in violation of the legislation.
The special treatment for Zlatka Dobreva does not end only with the refusal to stop the illegal construction. At the end of November 2019, Dobreva acquired a wooden pavilion with a built-up area of 30 square meters in the Atoluka area. In October 2020, the mayor of the Municipality of Bratsigovo issued a deed of private municipal ownership for the plot, as well as a design visa. A few days after the visa was issued, the wooden pavilion was destroyed. However, two months later, the municipality granted Dobreva the right to annex and upgrade the non-existent pavilion. Peneva said:
“The lack of a design visa for new construction means that the very first step of the legal construction permit procedure is flawed.”
Violations continue:
– The investment project introduced by Zlatka Dobreva was not properly agreed and approved by the municipal administration.
– Despite the lack of a valid visa and an approved investment project, on 22.12.2020 the municipality issued a construction permit.
– On January 15, 2021, the construction site was opened, despite the initiated legal procedures for appealing the visa and construction permit. Procedures under the Biodiversity Act and the Environmental Protection Act have also been violated – illegal felling of a pine forest and construction on the territory of „Natura 2000“ is taking place.
The municipality of Bratsigovo has also failed to fulfill its obligation to notify interested parties – owners of neighboring properties – of Dobreva’s construction plans.
On July 8, 2021, DNSK notified the District and Regional Prosecutor’s Office – Pazardzhik and ordered Nadezhda Kazakova, Mayor of Bratsigovo Municipality, to stop the illegal construction. RDNSC-Pazardzhik also instructs Kazakova to exercise her powers and stop the illegal construction with three letters: dated June 11, 2021, Sept. 1 2023 and 5th Sept. 2023
Regarding the lack of measures to stop the illegal construction activity, Kazakova states:
“After the final decision of the court enters into force, the necessary measures will be taken depending on the outcome of the case. If the building permit is revoked, then steps will be taken to stop construction under Art. 224a of the ZUT.”
According to Peneva, Mayor Kazakova’s opinion is illegal.
“Construction activities are carried out only on the basis of valid construction documents, which in this case are missing. Any building built without such documents is illegal and should be removed.”
Referred to in 2021, the prosecutor’s office found no evidence of a crime and refused to initiate criminal proceedings.
The proceedings for contesting the construction permit established in the Administrative Court – Pazardzhik have been pending for four years now and are being conducted by Judge Eva Pelova in an extremely curious manner. After accepting several technical expertises, which indisputably prove the lack of valid construction documentation, at the beginning of last year, Judge Pelova terminated it with the argument that the applicant had no legal interest in the appeal. In June 2023, the Supreme Court annulled the termination order and returned the case for consideration on the merits. From then until now, Judge Pelova has held several hearings to collect evidence unrelated to the dispute, including those concerning the applicant’s properties.
During this time, construction was almost complete, but still illegal.
“Constructions built without construction documents are illegal. Such constructions are not subject to legalization, but only to removal”, commented the legal team of the ACF.
According to the director of ACF, Boyko Stankushev, the refusal of the mayor and the chief architect of Bratsigovo to fulfill their duties, as well as the actions of some public institutions, are very disturbing. Stankushev said:
“The development of this case raises doubts about special institutional treatment of Zlatka Dobreva.”
“We can only speculate whether the motive for this attitude is the family relationship with Delyan Dobrev, but it is impressive that the legislation was trampled to the detriment of interested citizens and in favor of a person directly related to a politician from the largest parliamentary party in Bulgaria.”
