Finally: Bulgaria’s President issued a Decree for the Release of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev

With its decree on the basis of Art. 129, paragraph 3, item 5 of the Constitution, President Rumen Radev dismissed Ivan Geshev from the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Republic of Bulgaria.

This was announced by the press office of the head of state.

On June 12, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) voted to remove Ivan Geshev from the post of chief prosecutor with 16 votes "for" and 4 votes "against". This became possible after the National Assembly changed the required number of votes to dismiss the Prosecutor General from 17 to 13.

The release of Ivan Geshev came about after, in her program speech even before the formation of a government between GERB-SDS and WCC-DB, Mariya Gabriel, as a candidate for Prime Minister at the time, stated that the first point in the work of the Ministry of Justice will be the removal of the chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev.

Geshev took office as chief prosecutor at the beginning of 2020. His term of office is seven years.

In order to complete the process until his removal from office, it was necessary for the SJC to send a decision to the head of state and for him to sign a decree of dismissal from the post of chief prosecutor.

For Geshev, the termination of the mandate, which is an act without precedent in the recent history of Bulgaria, comes into force from the moment of signing, for the SJC - from the publication of the decree in the State Gazette. A seven-day period for opening a procedure for electing a new chief prosecutor will now begin.

Nominations can be made by members of the Prosecutor's College, as well as the Minister of Justice. According to the latest changes in the NPC, 13 votes are needed for the election, not 17.

Ivan Geshev was elected by the same composition of the SJC in 2019 amid unprecedented protests against his candidacy. The first time, the president refused to sign the decree for his appointment, and when the judicial staff repeated their choice, he signed, noting that Geshev did not meet the conditions for this post.

Literally after that, a war broke out between the Prosecutor General and the President, the culmination of which was the forced entry of the Prosecutor's Office into the presidential administration. Accusations against advisers of the head of state followed.

Mass protests eruputed, Radev came out to the people with his hand raised and shouted "Mobsters, get out" in the direction of Geshev and - then - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

After the explosion next to the Prosecutor General's car on May 1, the countdown began for him. He complained of pressure to resign, mentioning former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, and on the day of his removal, DPS MP Delyan Peevski.

Geshev also entered into a conflict with his deputy Borislav Sarafov, who talked about political influence in the prosecutor's office.

Ivan Geshev: The battle for justice is the battle of the entire Bulgarian people

"There is nothing more important in the world than the truth. Justice is the result of the truth. Will these 'politicians' who distorted the truth and unfairly suspended me for saying 'political garbage, I apologize for the expression' - will they thereby achieve the approval of the people?" This is what Ivan Geshev wrote on his Facebook profile.

And more: "Will the reckless disregard of fundamental legal principles and the crossing out of vitally important principles such as democracy and justice be accepted by the people as normal?
The battle for justice is not only my personal battle, the battle for justice is the battle of the entire Bulgarian people.
In the name of the Fatherland, this struggle continues!
Long live Bulgaria!" Ivan Geshev also wrote.

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