site.btaUPDATED Sofia Appellate Court Leaves MP Dzheyhan Ibryamov in Custody

The Sofia Appellate Court decided here on Thursday to leave Dzheyhan Ibryamov in custody, confirming the ruling of the Sofia City Court. The court’s decision is final.

The Sofia Appellate Court confirms the lower court’s decision that there is sufficient evidence in the case to support the reasonable assumption that Ibryamov committed the crime with which he is charged. The formation of the Court also finds that there is no risk of Ibryamov to abscond, but there is also a risk of him committing a crime if he is not remanded in custody.

On October 2, Ibryamov, MP of the 50th National Assembly, was detained and his home was searched, BTA learned from his lawyer, Yordan Kirov. Ibryamov is the top-of-the-list candidate of the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms coalition in the 30th multi-member constituency in Shumen for the snap parliamentary elections on October 27.

On October 5, when the Sofia City Court initially left Ibryamov in custody, Ivaylo Petrov, the supervising prosecutor in the case, told journalists that Ibryamov's charge is for influence peddling, and he confirmed that there is evidence in the investigation of vote-buying in the upcoming and past elections. Petrov confirmed that BGN 100,000 were found in Ibryamov's posession. He had asked for BGN 200,000. One part of the money was in the inside pocket of his jacket, while another part was in a paper envelope he was holding in his hands, the prosecutor explained, adding that the bills were marked. According to the prosecutor, Ibryamov is currently exercising his right to not provide explanations. Detailed testimony was given by witness Miroslav Todorov.

Earlier on October 5, the Sofia City Court ruled that the court session to review the prosecution service's request for a detention order against Dzheyhan Ibryamov will be held behind closed doors due to information in the case file that could be classified as matter of national security, which covers the characteristics of a State secret.

Ahmed Dogan, the Honorary Chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and top-of-the-list candidate of the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms in Razgrad and Kardzhali, came out to a protest on Saturday against Ibryamov's detention. The suspect's wife, Birshen Ibryamova, declared a hunger strike until his release.

National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan and the Central Election Commission authorized the lifting of Dzheyhan Ibryamov's immunity as an MP and a candidate for MP, following a request from the prosecutor's office to indict him.