Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council removed the Prosecutor General in his absence

Ivan Geshev

The Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council released Ivan Geshev for actions that harmed the authority of the judiciary and proposed to the President to issue a decree for his early dismissal from office.

This was decided by the SJC with 16 votes "for" and 4 "against" after more than 9 hours of debates yesterday and 14 hours of deliberations last Thursday. And the occasion is the words of the prosecutor: "It is clear who is the political trash in the National Assembly and it must be swept away", uttered on May 15, when he demonstratively tore off his resignation.

The judicial personnel decided to continue the proceedings in the absence of the chief prosecutor by 13 "for" against 7 "against" at 1:20 p.m. Ivan Geshev left the SJC meeting and went to Strasbourg for a meeting with LIBE. His lawyer Radostina Tomova also left with him. An hour and a half later, an attempt was made to re-vote the decision, but it did not gather support from the members of the SJC.

Sevdalin Mavrov announced that the Constitution had been violated and left the meeting.

"I am concerned about the visibility," said the president of the Supreme Court of Cassation, Galina Zakharova.

The SJC personnel then began a lengthy dispute over whether to listen to the May 22 recording of Geshev's meeting with SJC member Yordan Stoev at accuser #1's house and whether it is authentic and can be trusted. Stoev is one of the six people who requested Geshev's early removal due to the violation of his official duties in addition to the participation of the Israeli specialist in the inspection of the explosion with his car. Last Thursday, however, the six members of the Prosecution College surprisingly withdrew their request. Therefore, the SJC continues the deliberations only on the request for the removal of the chief prosecutor for undermining the authority of the judiciary with his statement about sweeping up "political garbage".

An attempt at adjournment

According to Olga Kerelska, there are signals in the recording that would shed light on whether political motives were involved in his removal. However, the SJC rejected her request.

Another evidentiary request, which Kerelska insisted on, to send letters to media outlets that took online polls since June 9, asking questions about the nature of the polls and whether polling agencies were involved, was also denied.

Kerelska recalled how the prosecutor general was chosen, as well as all the demands of the two former justice ministers, which included the "Josie" and "Eight Dwarfs" cases, asking the council members: "Where were you then?" According to her, at that time there were even more serious arguments for Geshev's early dismissal.

Veronika Imova insisted that the meeting be postponed to Thursday, so that Geshev could be heard and for him to hear the arguments of the petitioners for his removal and participate in the discussion. Otherwise, the Constitution is violated.

"Take your time! Do you have a schedule, colleagues? Where does the law go? It is an unacceptable and monstrous violation of the Constitution to refuse to hear the Prosecutor General, who specifically requested to be present in person and with his counsel. This is his constitutional right to defense. He has the right to attend and present facts and arguments," commented Imova.

Justice Minister Atanas Slavov reminded that the SJC has already decided to continue the procedure. And Atanaska Disheva added that Geshev had multiple opportunities to take a stand on all elements of the proposal for his removal and he showed disrespect to the SJC by leaving demonstratively.

The motives

One of the petitioners, Georgi Kuzmanov, announced that Ivan Geshev's emotional state is not an excuse to make unmeasured statements that discredit the judiciary. He admitted that it is a normal human reaction to be stressed after what happened, but this is no reason to call a briefing and "like a village sit-down" to announce who pressured you, who said what, who offered what. And he recommended: "If he has had serious stress, a person seeks specialized help and does not make public statements."

"Neither the fight against crime nor political trash are abstract concepts. We trusted him and placed a lot of hope in him, we believed in his professionalism. This turned out to be a mentality - instead of protecting values, he started leaking recordings. A labile prosecutor general is not equal to a brave one. (Geshev often quotes Italian judge Giovanni Falcone, who was killed by the mafia, that the coward dies every day, and the brave only once.) He can no longer fulfill the functions of the chief prosecutor," Kuzmanov pointed out.

He added that he asked an associate professor from the University of Sofia to what extent the word garbage is a metaphor, and this gives him reason to assume that this is not about a change of meaning.

Gergana Mutafova stated that since the four magistrates submitted the request, it has become apparent how a chief prosecutor can abuse rights. And according to Kalina Chapkanova, Geshev violated the principles of tolerance and civility.

"Every magistrate must be able to control his emotions. The chief prosecutor demonstrates behavior that contradicts the Code of Ethics. Harming the prestige of the judiciary is an objective reason for his early release," said Kalina Chapkanova.

"The chief prosecutor does not meet the requirements to occupy this high position," concluded Yordan Stoev - the fourth petitioner from the Prosecutor's College.

Of a different opinion

In the debate, it essentially became clear that the members of the SJC interpreted in a very different way the words of Ivan Geshev about sweeping away the political garbage - for some of them it was an expression of concern for the Bulgarian people, for others - hate speech and dangerous, strong politicization of the overall conduct of accuser #1.

Atanaska Disheva was categorical that there is no doubt about the legitimacy of the procedure. She explained that the petitioners have confirmed their will many times and that all the requirements of the law and internal rules have been complied with. According to her, the declarations of various prosecutor's offices in support of Geshev should not be taken into account, because they depend on him as his subordinates. "They cannot shape public opinion," she pointed out. Disheva explained that, like every citizen, the chief prosecutor has the right to express himself, but this expression has its limits, because it affects the authority of the institution he manages. And she declared that he would support the request for the removal of Ivan Geshev.

The head of the Supreme Court, Galina Zakharova, said that she was aware that she was in a subordinate position regarding the substantive debate.

"My personal opinion is that the SJC made a mistake by allowing the debate on the merits. I firmly believe that in this particular case, it is not a matter of an accidentally omitted phrase. This issue did not need a detailed clarification. Undoubtedly, it was uttered in an affected state. Neither expression can be judged on its own. In this particular case, the vocabulary used can be characterized as an arrogant expression that should not be inherent in any of the magistrates, especially by persons who by virtue of their position are charged with extremely high requirements for professional and moral qualities. The context gives grounds for a strong politicization of the overall behavior of the chief prosecutor. Such deeply political behavior is not permissible. It is especially reprehensible that his behavior is dedicated to a certain goal," Zakharova pointed out.

According to her, this is conscious behavior, the criminal process cannot serve as means for revenge, she also agreed with the reasons for the request for Geshev's removal. But according to her, the decision about this does not solve the big problems of the judiciary. "For the public, it should be clear why in the case of serious violations, the subject of discussion in this procedure, they act in a different way," the chairman of the Supreme Court was categorical. She also pointed to the lack of rules in such situations.

"The biggest danger after this procedure is that displacements will occur in some layers," Zakharova also pointed out.

Veronika Imova emphasized again that Geshev's request to participate in the debate was grossly violated for reasons he cannot change, that his words were taken out of context and that the chief prosecutor used gestures for which he apologized. Moreover, his words were not addressed to a specific person. She made a thorough analysis of what Geshev said at the press conference where he announced his resignation. Geshev spoke as a defender of the Bulgarian people, the message was aimed at the people. Magistrates could speak like politicians in exceptional cases.

"The insult is not directed at a specific person, therefore it cannot be considered an insult. They (his words) are directed at specific politicians who wish to subdue the judiciary," Imova also stated.

Geshev was subjected to a negative campaign since his election. Did the attack not start because the attorney general declared his desire to fight the economic and political mafia, she asked. According to her, the time of hypocrisy has passed, the facts must be fully clarified and it is time to cleanse the system of the political and economic mafia, she added.

"Our decision does not put an end to this procedure, but it will carry with it a mine that may explode in the Constitutional Court. Do not give away the judiciary in the hands of people outside the judiciary. The magistrate community will not forgive us. I will not support the request for the removal of the chief prosecutor", announced Imova.

Ognyan Damyanov, on the other hand, expressed doubt that Geshev's continuous business trips ("he travels more than the foreign minister") in various countries contribute to the authority of the judiciary. According to him, he did not ask for the resignation of accuser No. 1 because he knew that he would not submit it. At the press conference on May 15, he saw a poised and balanced person in contrast to his condition later.

"I  also don't like the people's representatives, who likes them now anyways, but I will never publicly express myself like that about them. Every accusation about every people's representative will be weighed down by the doubt that a thorough investigation, an objective investigation, has not been carried out. As a result of this statement, people who must suffer punishment, will cast doubt on objectivity. Institutions must be trusted, and there is no trust here," said Damyanov.

Tsvetinka Pashkunova referred to decisions of the Court of Appeal in cases of damage to the prestige of the judiciary and added that Geshev violated the principle of integrity with his statement. The statement about cleaning up the political trash demonstrated a desire for revenge, and the following days were an objective expression of this behavior - a number of cases were reopened, requests for immunity of MPs in cases on which it had been inactive for years. That's why Pashkunova announced that she will support the request to remove the chief prosecutor.

Olga Kerelska commented that she still has doubts about the legitimacy of the procedure. And she recalled the statement of the GERB nominee for prime minister, Mariya Gabriel, that the first thing to do is to demand the removal of accuser #1.

The chief prosecutor submitted to the parliament a request to lift the immunity of Kiril Petkov

At the proposal of the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office (SDPO), the chief prosecutor has submitted to the registry of the 49th National Assembly a request to lift the immunity of the people's representative with the initials K.P., who is a former prime minister and a current deputy. This was announced by the press center of the prosecutor's office.

The co-chairman of "We Continue the Change" Kiril Petkov is the only MP who fits the description.

The request for the removal of his immunity is related to pre-trial proceedings regarding a written declaration submitted by Petkov on the basis of Art. 110 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The Prosecutor's Office reports that the proposal of the supervising prosecutor from the SDPO states that K.P. submitted the declaration to an authority - the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, in which he deliberately concealed a truth - the existence of dual citizenship, and confirmed a falsehood - meeting the conditions for electing people's representatives (a crime under Article 313, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code).

A few days ago, Kiril Petkov wrote on Facebook that he will wait for a commission in the National Assembly to be formed and work on his immunity, "before which all the facts and evidence will be presented, so that all Bulgarians can see clearly and vividly how the Bulgarian prosecutor's office is used for political pressure".

Kiril Petkov also stated that the day before the commission made its decision, he would voluntarily waive his immunity because he had nothing to fear.

Follow Novinite.com on Twitter and Facebook

Write to us at editors@novinite.com

Информирайте се на Български - Novinite.bg

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!