ECHR Rules in Favor of Elena Yoncheva, Orders Bulgaria to Pay Compensation

Bulgarian MEP Elena Yoncheva has won her case against Bulgaria at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, which ruled that the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office violated her presumption of innocence when it publicly announced charges against her. The court found that the prosecutor's office violated her rights and ordered Bulgaria to pay her compensation.

The case dates back to 2019, when the now-dissolved specialized prosecutor’s office accused Yoncheva of money laundering involving funds allegedly siphoned from the Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB), which collapsed in 2014. Yoncheva, however, challenged these accusations, arguing that the prosecutor's actions were politically motivated, aimed at discrediting her political career rather than serving justice. The European Parliament had previously refused to lift her immunity, suggesting that the charges were linked to her political activities.

The Strasbourg court emphasized that the prosecutor’s office had disclosed the charges against Yoncheva in a way that undermined her presumption of innocence, violating both her right to an effective defense and her right to a fair trial. The prosecutor’s office had provided a detailed statement to the media at the time, presenting the charges in a manner that lacked discretion, violating European human rights standards.

In its ruling, the ECHR instructed Bulgaria to pay Yoncheva 4,900 euros in non-pecuniary damages and 3,000 euros in legal fees. It also reiterated that authorities must show discretion when publicly disclosing information about ongoing investigations, ensuring that the presumption of innocence is upheld.

Yoncheva was accused of receiving 333,000 euros from KTB accounts between 2012 and 2014 in her role as a manager of Offroad Ltd. The prosecutor’s office suggested that she knew the funds were criminally obtained and were part of an organized criminal operation. Yoncheva rejected these allegations, asserting that the charges were absurd, given that the state itself had no awareness of the bank’s embezzlement activities at the time. She argued that the charges were part of a broader campaign to discredit her work as a journalist and politician.

Before her political career, Yoncheva worked as a journalist, including at BNT and TV7. The investigation against her was initiated in 2018 after she made allegations about then-Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s links to a property in Barcelona. Yoncheva’s investigations also focused on corruption schemes related to the construction of a border fence with Turkey and highway projects during the GERB government.

Yoncheva became a member of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) in 2017, and later an MEP in 2019. She ran as a candidate for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) in the last European elections and later aligned with Delyan Peevski in his political dispute with Ahmed Dogan.

Source: Radio Free Europe Bulgaria