New Car Arson Case Reported in Sofia

Mysterious car arsons started occurring in the beginning of December and spread from Sofia to other cities and towns. File photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Another car has been set on fire in Bulgaria's capital Sofia overnight on "Obelski" road between the Lyulin and Modern Suburb districts.

According to the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, the incident happened right before 6 am. The Volkswagen had been totaled. The owner, a 72-year-old man, does not have a criminal record. Police are searching the premises Friday morning on suspicions this is the latest arson case.

Though subsiding, there had been over 60 such incidents in Sofia in the last two months and over 30 others outside the capital.

Police say that the arsons were committed by several groups with different motives and some have been copycat criminal actions. Others believe the arsons were set on purpose by an unknown, but powerful mastermind in order to destabilize the cabinet of the ruling GERB.

Recently, the Sofia District Court ruled to keep Ivan Kamenov, the fourth suspect regarding the recent series of car arsons in Bulgaria's capital Sofia, in custody.

The court believes that Kamenov is likely to hide or commit other crimes if he is released. The suspect has had a previous sentence for arson.

Kamenov has been accused of torching a vehicle in Sofia's Lyulin residential district. His lawyers have pointed out that the witnesses who have implicated him in the crime have criminal records or have been under the influence of cannabis, which would make their accounts doubtful.

Another arson suspect is being held in jail in the Black Sea city of Varna – Georgi Georgiev, an individual with a criminal record, charged with setting on fire two cars in the nearby town of Aksakovo.

On December 27, the Sofia Appellate Court released Yuliyan Kovachki , 29, on own recognizance. Kovachki was allegedly responsible for several arsons that took place in the Mladost residential district.

Several days earlier, another suspect, 33-year-old Vladislav Nikolov AKA Kukata (The Hook) was also released on own recognizance. On December 20, suspect Radoslav Stoyanov was released on a BGN 1700 bail.