site.btaDisciplinary Proceedings Proposed against Ex-Sofia Regional Prosecutor

Sofia City Prosecutor Iliana Kirilova asked the Supreme Judicial Council's Prosecutors Chamber (acting as Supreme Prosecutorial Council) to initiate disciplinary proceedings against former Sofia regional prosecutor Nevena Zartova. The proposal was submitted via acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov, the prosecution service reported on Monday.

The Prosecutors Chamber released Zartova from office as administrative head of the Sofia Regional Prosecution Office (SRPO) on February 15. The previous day she said in a televised interview that she was resigning to ease a build-up of administrative tensions at the SRPO in recent months. She argued that three comprehensive inspections of the prosecution office's entire operation since the summer of 2023 had made the work of her colleagues and the administration extremely difficult. A fourth such inspection has begun. Zartova's four deputies were also released from office. She and the deputies were reinstated as rank-and-file prosecutors at the SRPO.

Kirilova's proposal for disciplinary proceedings against Zartova is based on a check on her and three other SRPO prosecutors. After the check, the supreme prosecutor concluded that Zartova should bear disciplinary liability, but the other three prosecutors should not.

The check looked into five acts performed by Zartova in connection with the institution of an SRPO case file by oral request on May 29, 2023. Concerning three of these acts, the conclusion was that Zartova knowingly violated the rules by committing malfeasance in office, a breach of disciplinary regulations and damage to the prestige of the judicial system.