Bulgarian Lawyer Sues Interior Minister for Slander

Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov (pictured), is using slander and lies, a Bulgarian attorney insists. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

A Bulgarian lawyer, who was arrested during the special police operation, codenamed Octopus, had filed a defamation suit against Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov.

The case, scheduled for December 23, did not start over Tsvetanov's failure to appear in court, the Bulgarian daily "Trud" informs.

The lawyer, Nikolay Velkov, had filed the case over the Minister's statements, after the February arrest, Velkov was tried and sentenced for illegal drug manufacturing in the so-called "Opitsvet" affair in 1997.

The lawyer is asking for BGN 1 compensations.

The summons, sent by a courier, had reached the Interior Ministry, but was never handed to Tsvetanov.

Velkov is part of the management of the "General Leasing" company and has 50% stake in the joined stock company "Art Center La Strada." He insists he had never been a defendant in the "Opitsvet' case.

The lawyer was arrested on February 10, 2010, during the Octopus police operation aimed mainly at controversial businessman and former agent of the State Agency for National Security (DANS), Aleksei Petrov, and was released shortly after (February 18) by the Sofia Appellate Court over the lack of evidence.

"I want to show Tsvetanov uses slander and lies," Velkov says.

The Sofia Regional Court has rescheduled the case for January 19.

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