Bulgaria's Maybach Tank Thieves Appeal Guilty Verdict

The Maybach tanks laid half buried since World War II near Bulgaria's southeastern border with Turkey. File photo

The prosecution in the "Maybach" case asked the military appeals court Monday to upheld the verdicts issued by magistrates from the lower instance.

On October 6, 2010, a German national, Thomas Gmainer, 36, and a Bulgarian army officer, Aleksei Petrov, were sentenced by the Sliven Military Court to 4 years in jail for stealing a vintage World War II tank. They were arrested while attempting to thieve another Maybach tank.

The other defendant, 67-year old German national Matheus Mayer, was delivered a 3-year suspended sentence with five years on probation.

Gmainer and Petrov will also have to pay EUR 1 M in damages to the Defense Ministry.

After being released on bail, the German citizens disappeared and were later detained in Germany with an European arrest warrant, but were not extradited to Bulgaria and were tried in their absence.

The Monday trial was held behind closed doors and the magistrates are expected to issue a rule within a month.

The defense lawyers are appealing the verdict and it remains unclear is the case going to be sent back to the Sliven Court per their request. The defense insists a member of the magistrates' team there has close ties with the lawyer representing the Defense Ministry. The appeals court decision on the request is also pending.

The German Maybach tanks were used by the Bulgarian army during World War II and were left as stationary firing points, buried underground along the Turkish-Bulgarian border. They now have only collector value.

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