Bulgarian Bank Hostage Holder Faces Up to 30 Years behind Bars

Failed bank robber, Stefan Stefanov, is escorted by police to the Sliven courtroom at the end of March. Photo by DarikNews

Stefan Petrov Stefanov, the man who busted in a bank in the Southeastern Bulgarian city of Sliven and held hostages for almost two days at the end of March, may face a sentence of between 20 and 30 years in jail.

During his failed attempt to rob the local branch of Investbank, Stefanov shot and wounded bank security guard Stancho Stanev. It is Stanev's lawyer, Ivan Blagoev that has demanded the sentence, Mediapool reported on Tuesday.

Stanev, 42, was shot on March 23, when Stefanov, 27, busted into the bank branch in Sliven. The assailant took the six bank employees hostages and gradually released them with the last one being held for over 18 hours.

Stefanov surrendered to the police 39 hours after the beginning of the ordeal.

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