Grandson of Bulgarian Roma Clan Chief Seeks Trial Renewal

The grandson of Roma clan leader Kiril Rashkov, aka Tsar Kiro, asked the Supreme Court of Cassation (VKS) Tuesday for a renewal of criminal proceedings and for a lighter sentence.

On November 22, 2011, Kiril Rashkov-Jr, a grandson of Kiril Rashkov, was sentenced to 8 months of imprisonment for issuing a murder threat to Veselin Hristov.

On February 08, 2012, the Plovdiv District Court increased the penalty for Rashkov-Jr to 3 years of imprisonment.

In his Tuesday complaint, the grandson of the Roma clan leader sought a revocation of the decision of the Plovdiv District Court on the grounds that the magistrates had only considered the arguments of the accusation without taking into account the reasoning of the defense.

Kiril Rashkov-Jr called for a revocation of the sentence issued by the court of second instance and for a reduction of the penalty.

Meanwhile, the Plovdiv District Court decided Tuesday to keep under arrest 20-year-old Angel Rashkov, the other grandson of Tsar Kiro, who tried to bribe a traffic police officer with BGN 20 on March 14.

Kiril Rashkov, aka Tsar Kiro, and his clan triggered massive tensions across Bulgaria in September after the murder of a teenager in Katunitsa.

On September 23, 2011, a van driven by alleged associates of Rashkov ran down and killed 19-year-old ethnic Bulgarian Angel Petrov.

The Asenovgrad Regional Court sentenced Rashkov to three and a half years of imprisonment for issuing a death threat against Veselin Hristov and Ivanka Petrova, residents of the southern Bulgarian village of Katunitsa.

On April 19, the Plovdiv District Court upheld the verdict of the court of first sentence.

The threats were made hours before Angel Petrov got ran over by an alleged associate of the Roma clan leader.

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