site.btaTaxi Drivers to Stage Protests in Six Cities Demanding Fair Assault Sentences

Taxi drivers will protest in six cities on Friday, including Sofia, Yambol, Plovdiv, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo and Vratsa. They demand fair sentences for the armed robbery and attempted murder of their colleague Apostol Valchev from Yambol, said the National Taxi Union.

On Friday, the Supreme Court of Cassation will hear the case of the attack on taxi driver Apostol Valchev for the third time due to appeals from both sides. Protests were organized several times in Sofia and in Yambol by taxi drivers.

Seven years ago (on December 11, 2017), Apostol Valchev was shot by two students aged 14 and 18, after he responded to a call near the Yambol village of Drazevo. They attacked him with an air rifle disguised as a firearm, a gas pistol and a knife in order to steal 52 BGN from him. The taxi driver underwent a series of life-saving operations.

Initially, the Yambol District Court found the defendants guilty of attempted robbery and attempted murder. Kostadin Stoyanov was sentenced to six years of imprisonment, and Simeon Dimitrov was sentenced to 16 years behind bars.

After an appeal, the Appellate Court in Burgas reduced their sentences to 15 years for Simeon Dimitrov two years and two months for Kostadin Stoyanov, and the act was reclassified as an attempted robbery accompanied by moderate bodily injury.