site.btaJustice Minister Describes Case of Assaulted Prosecutor as Attack on Bulgaria’s Judicial System

“An attack on a Bulgarian prosecutor is an attack on Bulgaria’s judicial system,” Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev told the media, commenting on the assault against Prosecutor Ivo Iliev, former Deputy City Prosecutor of Sofia. 

Iliev was recently attacked in an underground garage in Sofia and by a masked man with a hammer. The prosecutor was hospitalized in an intensive care unit, but reported to be in stable condition. 

According to Georgiev, the incident constitutes “an unacceptable assault on a representative of the state.”
“We expect prosecutors to investigate criminals and not to fear the consequences of doing their duty,” the Justice Minister said.

He added that a collective response is needed following the attack, calling for a decisive stand from everyone in the judicial system

Two days earlier, Interior Minister Daniel Mitov stated that “only the results of the investigation — once the facts of the case become clear — can serve as the basis for conclusions about what the attack represents or symbolizes.”