site.btaInterior Ministry Was Informed Last Summer about Prison Break Preparations

Sofia, April 4 (BTA) - Following Tuesday's escape of two prisoners, Interior Minister Valentin Radev said at a hearing in Parliament that one of them was known to be preparing for it as far back as last summer. The information was passed on to the Justice Ministry.

Two armed prisoners attacked guards in Sofia Central Prison and escaped on Tuesday afternoon. They were identified as Radoslav Kolev, a repeat criminal serving 26 years for murder, and Vladimir Pelov, serving 30 years for robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder of two Interior Ministry officers.

Radev said that based on the information, the authorities had taken the necessary measures, and yet Pelov managed to break from prison. Border control has been tightened and persons connected to the escapees are being questioned.

Justice Minister Tsetska Tsacheva, who was also given a hearing, commented that the escape became possible due to human errors and loopholes in the security systems. The fact that the prisoners were carrying a knife and a pistol shows that the rules about things which can be brought into prison were broken.

Tsacheva said a commission would look into the incident, which took place in a matter of minutes and was caught on video. The ministries of justice and the interior and the prosecution service are working together.

Dragomir Stoynev (BSP for Bulgaria) said the sense of a responsible State was slipping away daily. It is not normal for two armed prisoners to escape through the prison's main entrance in an EU country, he said.

Dimiter Lazarov (GERB) commented that such things happen in other countries as well. GERB asked what measures the government and the two ministries were taking to prevent such incidents.