Bulgarian 'Killer' Charged with Attempted Murder

The release of four out of the five "Killers" sparkled a conflict between the executive and the judiciary in Bulgaria. Photo by BGNES

The Prosecutor's Office in Pleven raised Tuesday charges against Georgi Petkov aka Dachi, who faces another count of murder, for the attempted murder of the criminal Kamen Balbuzanov, aka Kukata (“the Hook”).

Dachi is one of the five Bulgarian men arrested during the “Killers” special police operation and was released few days later, only to be arrested again Monday.

The charges brought against Petkov Tuesday are different from the ones he faces on the “Killers” case.

Georgi Petkov, Yanko Popov, Vasil Kostov, Petar Stoyanov and Metodi Ivanov were arrested on July 23 during a police operation, which targeted an organized crime group carrying out gangland murders.

The five have been accused of murdering controversial football boss Yuri Galev, who was brutally shot June 20 and died in hospital ten days later. Georgi “Dachi” Petkov is precisely the one who has been charged with actually shooting Galev.

The Bulgarian Court of Appeals decided that there is not evidence that the organized crime group existed or that it was armed. It also ruled out that there was not enough evidence that the five detained had a common reason to kill Galev.

On August 3, the court decided to release on bail four out of the five men, including Petkov, leaving behind bars only Metodi Ivanov because an illegal AK-47 Kalashnikov gun has been found in his home, not because his alleged connection with the Galev assassination has been proven.

The court’s decision sparkled a war of words and mutual accusation by the executive and the judiciary in Bulgaria and provoked the ire of PM Boyko Borisov and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who saw the actions of the court as incompetent and sabotaging the honest efforts of Bulgarian police.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!