site.btaBulgaria Wants to See Proofs Implicating Judge Mitalov in Corruption after U.S. Issues Ban on His Entry

February 6 (BTA) - A day after the US State Department said it bars Specialized Criminal Court judge Andon Mitalov from entering the United States because of his alleged involvement in "significant corruption", the Presidents of his court and of the Supreme Court of Cassation asked that any proofs implicating Mitalov in corruption be made available to the competent Bulgarian authorities.

An extraordinary meeting of the judges college of the Supreme Judicial Council decided unanimously to ask, through the Foreign Ministry, the US State Department to provide all information is has about Mitalov.

The Wednesday announcement by the US State Department made Mitalov a household name but he had come in the spotlight even earlier for his controversial decision to allow the leader of the Russophiles National Movement, Nikolai Malinov, to travel to Russia despite the espionage charges against him and a ban on leaving the country. Malinov's trip to Moscow in early November 2019 to receive the Order of Friendship from Russian President Vladimir Putin, was on the agenda of a meeting of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov with US President Trump in the White House late last year.

Borissov said he could not offer an explanation of how it was possible to charge a man with spying for Russia and then allow him to travel to Moscow.

The President of the Specialized Criminal Court, Marieta Raykova, said that she heard about Mitalov's "designation" from the news media and asked the specialized prosecution if they have probed the judge for corruption.

She also said that nobody has ever complained to her about Mitalov's work and that he enjoys the confidence of the other judges and the US announcement came as a shock for all of them.

Supreme Cassation Court President said he has asked information about any probes against Mitalov from the Inspectorate of the Supreme Judicial Council, the Prosecutor General and the counter-corruption and asset forfeiture commission.

In a comment for the press, Panov said that the case again raises the issue of how the specialized courts were created and manned.

Also on Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Council Inspectorate said it has not found any violations in the work of judge Mitalov on the Russophiles leader's case and declined to open a disciplinary procedure.

The Inspectorate was asked to look into Mitalov's decision by former Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov. It pointed out Thursday that it is not within its competence to review court decisions.

The Inspectorate also said it has not received any other alerts against Mitalov.

Nikolai Malinov: The US actions humiliate Bulgaria

The leader of the Russophiles Movement, Nikolai Malinov, commented in a bTV interview Thursday morning that the actions of the United States place them above the Bulgarian court and humiliate Bulgaria.

While he pointed out that the US never said their decision was prompted by judge Mitalov's decision in his case, he argued that the US sanctions against the specialized court judge seek to sour Bulgaria-Russia relations.

Malinov denies any acquaintance with judge Mitalov or having offering him anything to secure a permission to travel to Moscow.

He also dismissed the prosecution office' allegations that he failed to ask a permission from the supervising prosecutor to travel to Moscow, and insisted that he did that. LN/MT
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