Today, the court in Burgas officially announced the sentence of Omar Adnan – the defendant responsible for the deaths of police officers Yordan Iliev and Atanas Gradev. The session started late, a journalist of Iskra.bg reported. Yesterday, the final pleadings were heard and the case entered its decisive phase.
The court imposed a sentence of 20 years of imprisonment in a strict initial regime, with the time the defendant has been detained under the Ministry of Interior Act being deducted. Additionally, Omar Adnan was sentenced to pay BGN 106,000 to the Municipality of Burgas for material damages, a state fee of BGN 4,200, and over BGN 22,000 in case-related expenses.
The Burgas District Prosecutor’s Office has brought charges against Omar Adnan for causing death intentionally under particularly aggravating circumstances. His action has been classified under Article 342, paragraph 3, item „v“ of the Criminal Code.
According to the materials in the case, on the fateful day, he was driving a passenger bus, a Mercedes with Dutch registration, at a speed of 88 km/h, despite the speed limit in the area being 40 km/h. When the police officers signaled for him to stop, instead of slowing down, Adnan continued driving and entered the „Trapezitsa“ intersection at high speed. This led to a severe collision with the patrol car, a Skoda Rapid, in which the two policemen were.
In the course of the trial, prosecutor Dimitar Uzunov said that the intentional commission of the serious crime had been proven beyond doubt. According to him, the defendant was clearly aware that he was using a motor vehicle on a public road in violation of the law and was pursuing an unlawful purpose.
A triple automotive expert report was prepared in the case, which confirms the prosecution’s conclusions. Testimonies of policemen involved in the chase of the bus revealed that Adnan repeatedly tried to push the patrol vehicle off the road and even nearly ran over an officer at the Poda checkpoint.
The court found Omar Adnan guilty of causing a serious road traffic accident that resulted in the deaths of two police officers. The incident occurred on August 25, 2022, when he was driving a bus with Dutch registration, heading towards Trapezitsa. In violation of traffic rules, at an excessive speed and despite the signals from the controlling authorities, who were following the bus in patrol cars, he did not stop. Meanwhile, Yordan Iliev and Atanas Gradev, who were in a patrol car at an intersection, attempted to stop him, but the defendant intentionally continued driving, entering the intersection, where he caused the crash that took the lives of the two law enforcement officers.
The sentence is not final and can be appealed to a higher court.
