Bulgaria Ex-Justice Minister Tangled in High Profile Murder Case

Galin Kostov, accused in the high profile murder of businessman, Stoyan Stoyanov, appeared before the Burgas Appellate Court Wednesday. He coninues to deny involvement in the case. Photo by BGNES

The Appellate Court in Bulgaria's Black Sea City of Burgas ruled to keep former Judge, Galin Kostov, under permanent detention

The former judge from the other Black Sea city of Varna, Galin Kostov, is charged with the kidnapping and murder of the Burgas businessman, Stoyan Stoyanov.

The Court examined Wednesday new evidence presented by the defense council, including a signal to the Chief Prosecutor and the Supreme Judicial Council about violations in the pre-trail proceedings amounting to criminal acts, the lawyers say.

One of the violations is alleged witness tempering involving the main witness in the case, Stoyan Petrov. The evidence includes transcripts of two police interrogations of Petrov with contradicting testimony. The defendant's attorneys point out they asked for Petrov to be interrogated again, by both sides in the case, but their request has been denied. They further say Petrov has been pressured by employees of the organized crime unit GDBOP.

Defense attorney, Branimir Balchev, insists the witness tempering is related to a failed public tender in Varna for the city's prison and adjacent lands. The location is slated for Varna's city center and the land price is very high – about EUR 1 500 per square meter. The tender was organized by Bulgaria's Justice Ministry when it was headed by former Justice Minister, Meglena Tacheva.

Balchev says the tender was won by the wrong people i.e. Kostov and his alleged accomplice Svetlin Mihaylov. (Mihaylov is the former Director of the State Receivables Collection Agency and his is said to be abroad, but his whereabouts are unknown. The Ministry of Interior has issued an European Arrest Warrant for Mihaylov.)

After the results from the tender were announced, the Justice Ministry annulled it precisely because it was won by Kostov and Mihaylov, and, according to the defense council, this is the main reason why the investigation of Stoyanov's murder was steered towards the two of them.

Galin Kostov, 38, former judge, and now private law enforcement officer was arrested in October 2009 for the murder of Bulgarian businessman Stoyan Stoyanov. He maintains his innocence. Kostov's defense council claims there isn't any direct evidence linking their client to the crime and the implications stem from witness accounts of another murder suspect, the above said 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.

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