Former Bulgaria Judge Lodges Appeal over Murder Charges

Galin Kostov was arrested on October 18 for ordering the kidnapping and murder of Stoyan Stoyanov (above). Photo by BGNES

Galin Kostov, the former judge, and now private law enforcement officer, blamed for ordering the murder of Bulgarian businessman Stoyan Stoyanov has lodged an appeal.

Kostov’s lawyer announced Monday that an appeal over his client’s arrest had been lodged with the Burgas Appellate Court.

The Burgas District Court ruled last Monday to keep former judge, and now private law enforcement officer, Galin Kostov, under permanent detention.

Kostov, 38, was arrested 18 October. He told the magistrates the police was pressuring the court through the media and claimed his innocence, adding Neno Stoyanov and Atanas Kolev – the two men he and his accomplice Stanislav Mihaylov (a former top civil servant) – allegedly hired to organize the kidnapping and murder of Stoyan Stoyanov – were his former clients from back in the days when he worked as a lawyer.

Kostov's defense council argued that there isn't any direct evidence linking their client to the crime and the implications stem from witness accounts of another murder suspect, Stoyan Petrov, who based them on a story he heart from the alleged physical perpetrator of the murder, Manol Handziev. Handziev was killed last August.

The Prosecutor requested permanent detention over the extreme cruelty of the crime and the likeliness Kostov might hide or leave the country.

The defense attorney told reporters all evidence was leading in another direction, but no one wanted to investigate it.

The measure can be appealed in a 7-day period before the Burgas Appellate Court.

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