Bulgaria PM Proposes Introduction of Anti-Kidnapping Law

The father of Bulgaria's latest kidnapping victim, Guninski Sr., is a wealthy businessman and a town councilor from the Bulgarian Socialist Party in the town of Pravetz, to the northeast of Sofia. Photo by Botevgrad.com

Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, declared Tuesday that there is an urgent need to introduce an anti-kidnapping law in the country.

“It might be just one page long, but it must include draconian sanctions,” the PM is quoted as saying.

Borisov's statement came on the heels of Bulgaria's latest high-profile kidnapping case, which happened Monday evening when 22-year-old Rumen Gunenski Jr, son of a wealthy businessman, was abducted by a group of masked men who forced him into a van close to his dormitory in Sofia's Studentski Grad (College Town) Quarter.

Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velechev, and the Interior Ministry Chief Secretary, Kalin Georgiev, are meeting Tuesday to discuss the case and seek solutions. Borisov said he knew how hard they were working and wished them success.

The current Bulgarian Penalty Code provides for 3 to 10 years behind bars for kidnapping.

In the meantime, Velchev informed he still had no information about a ransom demand to the family, and declined to offer further details, adding he was inclined to back Georgiev's opinion that the crime was perpetrated by a well known group that has organized numerous such abductions.

Earlier Tuesday, the Sofia City Prosecutor, Nikolay Kokinov, said there are strong suspicions it is the same group that kidnapped businessmen Kiro Kirov, who was released after the family paid a substantial ransom, and Vene Sotirov, whose whereabouts remain unknown and who is presumed dead.

In a short interview Tuesday morning for the T Channel Pro.bg, the father declared that no ransom had been demanded from him, and that he had no idea who and why had kidnapped his son.

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