The head of the Sofia City Prosecution Office (SCPO), Iliana Kirilova, Thursday declined an invitation to be heard before the ad hoc parliamentary committee of inquiry into a trade-in-influence network which transpired after the killing of Martin "the Notary" Bozhanov. Her refusal to show up outraged the committee chair, Nikola Minchev, and he said she has an obligation to speak to the committee.
Kirilova was called to the hearing on Thursday to take questions about whether the prosecution office she heads has been aware of any groups for trade in influence and if any measures have been taken by the leadership about that.
In a letter to the ad hoc committee, Kirilova argued that information she might be asked to provide at the hearing - which she said concerned several ongoing investigations, in some of which people have already been indicted - may affect the outcome of these investigations and even the court proceedings.
The Committee Chair, Nikola Minchev said Kirilova sent her letter a half-hour before the committee hearing was due to start even though she was invited on March 11. He also said: "We will renew the invitation. She has an obligation to appear before the parliamentary committee."
He also said that invitation to a hearing will also be sent to acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov and his two predecessors, Ivan Geshev and Sotir Tsatsarov.
Minchev also rejected accusations that his committee was being used for political goals.
Martin Bozhanov was shot dead in a gated complex in a Sofia suburb on the evening of January 31. According to media reports, he was a large-scale fixer of people's problems with the judiciary. He has been implicated in building a network of connections with prosecutors and judges whom he allegedly bribed, threatened, blackmailed or otherwise pressured to treat his "clients" favourably. In early February, Parliament set up an ad hoc committee to probe the facts and circumstances surrounding the activity of Bozhanov and his group.
/RY/
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