Bulgarian PM Rises in Defense of Tarnished Judge

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has demanded answers from the European Commission regarding the recent scandal involving notorious constitutional judge Veneta Markovska.

Last week, the Bulgarian Parliament elected 2 constitutional judges from its quota,ignoring strong criticism from the European Commission that the lawmakers are covering up corruption tip-offs against one of the candidates.

The elected judges were Veneta Markovska and Anastas Anastasov.

In an interview for the Bulgarian Standart daily, Borisov has urged the European Commission to come up and officially announce its accusations against Markovska.

Borisov has noted that he is responsible for the nomination of Anastasov, who was endorsed by his ruling centrist-right GERB.

"As far as I know, Markovska has been adamantly explaining that what she has been accused of is not true," the Prime Minister has said, pointing out that she was nominated by independent MPs.

A week before the Parliament voted for the two constitutional judges, the MP from the opposition left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, Yanaki Stoilov, announced that a tipoff has been logged against judge Markovska, signed by someone named Georgi Tolev.

The tipoff is based on an investigative journalistic report, alleging that in January 2010 the judge interfered to have two police officers fired over a traffic stop. The man who was stopped, Georgi Georgiev, reportedly is the live-in boyfriend of Markovska. He was apparently drunken then and entered in a brawl with the police patrol.

There are further allegations about profitable real estate purchases by the judge's boyfriend and her relatives, including her mother, and of close ties with a defense attorney, whose cases have been under her authority.

The election of Markovska and Anastasov prompted the European Commission to announce  that Bulgaria might face an interim report on justice and home affairs.

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