site.btaCourt Refuses to Release Varna Mayor from Custody for Sixth Time

The Sofia Appellate Court on Thursday left in custody Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, who is charged with corruption and participation in an organized crime group. The judgment is unappealable. This is the sixth refusal to release him from custody in over three months. One of the three judges signed with a dissenting opinion.

The majority of the judicial panel cited the risk of committing another crime as stemming from Kotsev's position as mayor, which he will hold by the end of October. The ruling also says that in this capacity, Kotsev could influence the investigation, even under house arrest. The statutory period for detention has not been exceeded.

The majority of the judges said that in his initial testimony, former Varna deputy mayor Dian Ivanov provided a detailed account of the instructions he had received from Kotsev on how to collect money. Regarding Ivanov's testimony from October 2, the court said that it did not contradict his previous statements, but was given solely in his personal defence. The reasonable assumption that Kotsev committed the acts he is accused of remains, supported by the testimonies of both Ivanov and Plamenka Dimitrova, the owner of a catering company, who accused Kotsev of demanding a bribe to greenlight a contract. He has denied the charges.

The dissenting opinion comes from Judge Andrey Angelov, who said that from the start of the investigation, the prosecution had included an unidentified person - a member of Parliament. The investigation has been ongoing for 11 months, yet the identity of the MP remains unknown, despite the total number of MPs being 240, the judge said. He added that the prosecution's inclusion of the MP in the indictment amounts to an abuse of process. The prosecution must clarify its charges, he said.

According to the dissenting judge, the reasonable assumption of Kotsev's involvement in the crimes is not currently strong enough to justify keeping him in custody. He concluded that Kotsev should be released on his own recognizance.

Lawyer Vladimir Nikolov said that once again, the prosecution was criticized for gathering only evidence favourable to it, without including any in Kotsev's favour.

At the start of the hearing, the court rejected a request by Kotsev's lawyers for Continue the Change leader Assen Vassilev to testify on the grounds that the court cannot question witnesses on the merits of the case while examining a measure of restraint.

Vassilev told the media the court had refused to question him in order to keep the case against Kotsev in Sofia rather than transferring it to Varna, where the case belongs. "Kotsev has already been detained for over three months, based on the statements of a proven thief. The State Financial Inspection Agency has a report (...) which implicates her company in misappropriating more than BGN 500,000 from Bulgarian students and their meals," said Vassilev, referring to Plamenka Dimitrova.

Vassilev added: "This thief claimed that there was an unknown member of Parliament, and then implicated me. Because of this, the case is being heard in Sofia, by Sofia-based prosecuting magistrates and courts, where panels can be manipulated, rather than in Varna, where it belongs. For three months now, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Sofia City Prosecution Office have refused to question me, and just now the court also refused, so that the case stays in Sofia instead of going to Varna."

Background to the case

Kotsev was elected mayor on the ticket of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria in November 2023. He was arrested late on the night of this last July 8 following a tip-off for corruption by a failed public procurement tenderer. Along with municipal councillors Nikolay Stefanov and Yordan Kateliev, Kotsev has been charged with participation in an organized criminal group. The group is accused of engaging in coordinated criminal activities including abuse of office, bribery and money laundering. The three are charged with attempting to extort a sum equivalent to 15%, excluding VAT, of 1,523,446 BGN - the value of a public procurement contract for the delivery of meals to schools and kindergartens.

On May 5, former Varna deputy mayor Dian Ivanov, once regarded as Kotsev's "right-hand man", abruptly resigned from his post, citing "health reasons". Ivanov became a witness for the Anti-Corruption Commission and reportedly said in his testimony that Mayor Kotsev had instructed him to participate in the extortion of Plamenka Dimitrova. However, Ivanov later recanted his testimony, saying that he had given it under pressure from the Anti-Corruption Commission.

On September 23, the Sofia Appellate Court left Kotsev in custody. The court said that Varna Municipality employees had been questioned and documents that had to go through the mayor were requested. Judge Stefan Iliev said there was reasonable suspicion that Kotsev committed the crimes of which he is accused. This is evidenced by Dimitrova's testimony and there is no testimony to the contrary. In its ruling, the court also took into account Dian Ivanov's testimony. The judge added that there is no risk of Kotsev absconding if a lighter measure was imposed, but there is a risk that he may commit another crime, as he is still the mayor of Varna and can influence the investigation.

On October 9, the Sofia Appellate Court placed municipal councillors Kateliev and Stefanov under house arrest and ruled for their immediate release from custody. After the hearing, Kotsev's lawyer Ina Lulcheva filed a motion to have his measure of restraint examined. On October 10, the Sofia City Court decided to keep him in custody.

Supporters say Kotsev's arrest is part of a government campaign targeting the opposition. Large-scale protests in his support have been staged in Varna, Sofia and other major cities.