site.btaGeorgiev to Remain in Custody over Charges for Inflicting Bodily Injury, Death Threats to 18-Year-Old Woman

The Stara Zagora District Court Wednesday remanded in custody Georgi Georgiev, accused of assaulting a 18-year-old girl from Stara Zagora and threatening to kill her. The decision is final. The ruling upholds the decision of the lower instance court.

During the hearing, the lawyer of the accused said that "there is no evidence of a crime". He added that unprecedented public and media pressure was exerted to detain his client. According to Georgiev's lawyer, there is an inadmissible mixing of evidence in two pre-trial proceedings being conducted simultaneously.

The maximum detention period for Georgiev on the charges of death threats is up to eight months, his lawyer said.

The attack was reported on June 26. In late July, Georgiev was also charged for death threats. On August 4, Stara Zagora Regional Prosecutor Tanya Dimitrova told the media that after active investigations into the two pre-trial proceedings, there is conclusive evidence that the accused is the perpetrator of the crimes for which he has been charged.

She explained that the victim was subjected to additional questioning and this served as one of the grounds for supplementing the charges by expanding the time period and the threats made.

On Tuesday, protest rallies were held in Sofia, Stara Zagora and across the country in support for the 18-year-old woman. The rallies were a follow-up to the protests across the country last week.

On Monday, Parliament held an extraordinary sitting to debate on tougher sanctions for domestic violence. The MPs passed conclusively amendments to the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act and first-reading revisions to the Penal Code.