Bulgaria Sees Protests against Anti Mafia Policemen Jail Verdict

Five anti mafia policemen have been found guilty of the murder of 38-year-old Angel Dimitrov in the city of Blagoevgrad in November 2005. Photo by BGNES

Policemen from the town of Blagoevgrad announced plans to stage rallies against the heavy sentences that a court delivered to five of their former colleagues for an alleged murder.

"This is the first step that we undertake in support of the sentenced policemen, but we don't rule out our initiative to grow nationwide," Valentin Popov, former chairman of the Federation of police trade unions, told Darik radio.

A Bulgarian court upheld earlier in the week the verdict of five anti-mafia policemen, who were sentenced to 82 years in jail for allegedly killing 38-year-old Angel Dimitrov in the city of Blagoevgrad four years ago.

Major Miroslav Pissov was sentenced to 18 years behind bars, while the other four - captain Ivo Ivanov, chief-lieutenant Boris Mehandzhijski, and sergeants Georgi Kalinkov and Yanko Grahovski - to 16 years in jail.

Angel Dimitrov AKA Chorata, was allegedly killed in November of 2005 by the Blagoevgrad police during a law enforcement operation entitled "Respect."

Dimitrov's death was first pegged as a heart attack but expertise showed that he had passed away due to blows to the head.

Dimitrov aka Chorata was a close ally of the alleged mobster Vassil Gorchev, who was publicly executed in January of 2005.

 

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