Assassination Attempt against the Bulgarian Prosecutor General (OVERVIEW)

Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev

An accident with the motorcade of the chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev occurred on the road between Sofia and Samokov. According to information from the National Television, the chief prosecutor was supposed to travel to Turkey. Before leaving, he decided to go to a meeting with junior prosecutors in the Samokov region.

The incident happened around 11:45 a.m. between Samokov and the village of Kovachevtsi. No one was injured in the incident, said the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Petar Todorov at a briefing. The circumstances are being clarified, there are employees of the General Directorate 'National Police', representatives of the gendarmerie, the Main Directorate "Fighting Organized Crime" are also on the spot. A headquarters with all services was formed.

Tomorrow, Prime Minister Galab Donev will hold a meeting with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The information will be summarized there, and actions will be taken accordingly, Todorov specified.

According to unofficial information of BNT, an explosive device exploded in front of one of the cars from the motorcade. Also, according to unofficial information, Geshev was in the motorcade. The explosive device was activated remotely.

According to Bulgarian media, there is debris on the road after the explosive device detonated.

The National Security Service (NSS) currently refuses to comment on the incident.

For nearly two years, Ivan Geshev has been protected by the NSS, after the parliament took away the Bureau of Protection from the Prosecutor General and transferred it to the Ministry of Justice.

A second explosive device was found on the route of the Prosecutor General

A second explosive device was found, reported the National Television.

It was placed along a route that the Prosecutor General's motorcade was supposed to pass on its way to Turkey.

Ivan Geshev: Good thing I changed cars at the last moment

"Good thing I switched cars at the last minute. Good thing they didn't kill someone! I am worried about the children, they were very scared." This is what the chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev commented to "Epicenter" after the explosion against his car.

The explosion occurred in front of the motorcade of the chief prosecutor at around 11:45 am on the road Sofia - Samokov.
He traveled with his wife and two daughters.

Borislav Sarafov: The explosive device was intended to kill

"Today, around 11:30-11:35 a.m., the chief prosecutor with his car, traveling towards Sofia, at a very large bend, where the speed is apparently reduced, an explosion occurred. The explosion was extremely strong, according to eyewitnesses, the pillar of fire which it erupted, was 4-5 meters high" - said Deputy Chief Prosecutor and Director of the National Investigative Service Borislav Sarafov, who arrived at the scene of the accident with the motorcade of Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev - on the Sofia - Samokov road. Sarafov pointed out that it was an assassination attempt. The Prosecutor General was in the car with his family.

"A crater with a depth of 30-40 cm and a diameter of nearly 3 meters was found at the site. This is in close proximity to the roadway, the banquette. Besides everything else, the explosion had a direction - the explosion had a clear direction to the road, to the passing cars," added Borislav Sarafov.

And more: "The bomb was not only with a large TNT equivalent - not less than 3 kg of TNT equivalent according to the initial opinion of the experts, but also with fragments. Many fragments that scattered and stuck in the opposite trees. That is, precisely in the trees - direction from the banquette across the roadway to the trees. Obviously the bomb, the explosive device was intended to kill. It wasn't to intimidate, it wasn't fireworks, an extremely loud blast, including shrapnel. The metal pellets that we find, part from which they also stuck in the trees, they are the size of a human fingernail".

Investigations are currently underway, including with tracking dogs, looking for traces of the perpetrators. They apparently followed the Prosecutor General's route. "Markers were found at the scene, which were obviously left by the perpetrators," added the deputy of the chief prosecutor: "Certain markers, certain objects, against which, when the car passes, the bomb would be triggered."

"Obviously a professionally prepared attempt and well executed, only one coincidence saved both the Prosecutor General and his family, and a number of other people who were passing at that time or shortly before on this road. Only one coincidence prevented a lot of deaths cases that could occur," Borislav Sarafov also pointed out.

"At the moment, the criminal proceedings that have been instituted are under Chapter 1 of the Criminal Code for a terrorist act, which by means of an explosion tries to destabilize or kill someone - 108A, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code," the deputy also said.

And more: "We are taking about this extremely seriously, all the soil will be taken from the place of the explosion, from the crater. We are looking for detonators, we are looking for shrapnel, all the shrapnel will be taken. Within a few hours we will have (data) what is the chemical composition of the explosive device. We will know both the type of explosive and its quantity. But the initial data is for no less than 3 kilograms of TNT equivalent. I repeat - with shrapnel. These shrapnels are not only set to explode, they are set to kill", repeated the deputy chief prosecutor Borislav Sarafov.

Prosecutors, investigators and court officials will protest because of the attack on Geshev

Prosecutors, investigators and court officials will protest outside courthouses across the country over the attack on the prosecutor general.

While the information about the failed assassination attempt against Ivan Geshev quickly spread all over the media, magistrates spontaneously decided to express their intransigence against the attack on justice and national security, unprecedented in its audacity and scale.

Magistrates and officials from the prosecution and investigation will demonstrate at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, both in support of the chief prosecutor and also to show their unity against attempts to intimidate them, as many of them have understood the failed assassination attempt on Geshev.

The prosecutors were determined that they would no longer tolerate being the object of incessant attacks from politicians, economic circles and the legal community.

Trifonov on the attempt against the chief prosecutor: Practically, this is a terror attack against the state

"Today, an assassination attempt was carried out against the chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev. In other words, a public, demonstrative and arrogant attempt to kill was made. What is even more disgusting is that his wife and two daughters were traveling in the car together with the chief prosecutor. Whatever the public discussions, let's talk, the fact is that such an attack is an attack not only against one person, but against one of the institutions in the state. Practically, this is an attempt against the country" - this is what Slavi Trifonov, leader of "There Is Such a People" wrote on his Facebook profile on the occasion of the explosion that went off on the road where the car of the number one accuser Ivan Geshev was passing and which later became clear that it was an attempted assassination and is being investigated as an act of terrorism.

"Everyone can have their own opinion about the professionalism of the Prosecutor General, but in human terms what happened is a terrible, monstrous, brutal crime. We always proudly state that we are a normal country, a member of the European Union, but such acts raise the question of whether we are a country at all", Slavi Trifonov also wrote.

"Vazrazhdane": The incident with the prosecutor general's motorcade is a sign of the collapse of statehood

The incident with the prosecutor general's motorcade is a sign of the collapse of statehood. This was stated in the position of the "Vazrazhdane" (Revival) party after the explosion near a car in which the chief prosecutor was traveling.

"The attempt to assassinate the number one accuser is tantamount to a terrorist act. We condemn the committed terrorist act and insist on the fastest possible investigation, detection of the culprits and punishments," said representatives of "Vazrazhdane".

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