The final phase of the trial against Stanimir Ragievsky, accused of the murders of 46-year-old broker Teodora Bahlova and 28-year-old construction worker Yumer Mehmed, began with a false start. The reason – during the hearing it became clear that a request was received from the defendant’s lawyer Vanya Radieva claiming that she could not attend the hearing. Scanned copies of a sick leave for temporary incapacity for work were attached to the application. It is for the period between January 19 and 25 and states that he was prescribed home treatment for an unspecified upper respiratory infection. It is for the period between 19 and 25 January and states that home treatment was prescribed for an unspecified upper respiratory tract infection.
We’d like to remind you that the pleadings were to be read today and possibly the same day the fate of the businessman from Burgas would become clear. The relatives of Bahlova and Mehmed are demanding a total of about 1.2 million BGN as blood money from him. At the hearing on March 27, the following were constituted as civil plaintiffs and private accusers: Bahlova’s daughter Hristiyana Ivanova, who pleaded for blood money in the amount of 500,000 BGN; the mother of the murdered broker – Stoyanka Bakhlova, whose civil claim amounts to BGN 300,000; Mehmed’s girlfriend Gabriela Atanasova, pleading for blood money in the amount of BGN 300,000; the mother of murdered construction worker Gyulfie Salibryam, whose civil claim is in the amount of BGN 100,000. The Burgas District Court dismissed the request of Bahlova’s sister for her constitution as a civil plaintiff in the court proceedings.
The motives for Mehmed’s murder are unfulfilled promises to pay money for work done. The reason for taking Teodora Bakhlova’s life was a property dispute.
During today’s hearing, prosecutor Desislava Trifonova shared with the jury her doubts about the authenticity of the presented sick note. She explained that she was officially aware that lawyer Vanya Radieva had participated yesterday in an interrogation of a witness in a pre-trial proceeding. She stressed that she could back up her words with documents. According to her, the postponement of the case is unjustified and she sees no procedural obstacles to not taking action given the presence of official public defender.
At the same time, the lawyers of the private plaintiffs wanted the case to be postponed because, according to them, it is at such a stage that it is appropriate for the accused to be defended by the lawyer of his choice. Lawyer Galina Koleva said that the court could check the allegations of the state prosecutor and if it is proved that lawyer Radieva is guilty, she should bear her responsibility. For his part, lawyer Dimitar Valchev pointed out that the reason for their colleague’s non-appearance was temporary incapacity, there were no lasting reasons for her not to defend her client in the future and it was right for her to be present at this stage.
Judge Gagashev also asked Ragevsky whether to proceed with the case, and the accused replied:
„I prefer Vanya Radieva to be present, but I leave the decision to you.“
After a secret session of the court panel, Judge Gagashev said that at this stage, from the documents submitted by the prosecutor, no definite conclusion could be drawn as to the absence of lawyer Vanya Radieva, given that a scanned copy of a sick note signed by a doctor had been submitted. According to the magistrate, an inspection should be carried out and an explanation should be demanded from Radieva, but at this stage it cannot be concluded that the reason for her non-appearance is disrespectful.
The next meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on February 29.
