se times
18/11/2010
A former defence minister and another senior official in the previous Bulgarian government were acquitted of fraud and abuse of power by courts in Sofia on Wednesday.
(Sega - 18/11/10; Reuters, DPA, The Sofia Echo, Sofia News Agency, Dnevnik.bg, Mediapool - 17/11/10; The New York Times - 10/11/10; WAZ.EUobserver - 09/11/10)
A former defence minister and another senior official in the previous Bulgarian government were acquitted of fraud and abuse of power by courts in Sofia on Wednesday.
(Sega - 18/11/10; Reuters, DPA, The Sofia Echo, Sofia News Agency, Dnevnik.bg, Mediapool - 17/11/10; The New York Times - 10/11/10; WAZ.EUobserver - 09/11/10)
Two former senior Bulgarian officials praised the country's widely-criticised judiciary system after being acquitted of fraud and abuse of power on Wednesday (November 17th).
Nikolay Tsonev, who served as defence minister in the previous Socialist-led coalition government, was cleared of charges of mishandling over 4m euros through a deal for the purchase of a construction line that he approved in early 2009. Welcoming the Sofia City Court's ruling, he urged Bulgarians to keep their faith in the judiciary, which, according to a poll earlier this year, enjoys the trust of only 11% of citizens.
Prosecutors, who requested a prison sentence of four-and-a-half years, said on Wednesday they would challenge the verdict at a higher-instance court, claiming judges had failed to carefully examine the evidence.
Tsonev has also been charged with offering a 20,000-euro bribe to an investigator in a bid to block the probe into the 2009 purchase contract. He was arrested in April, along with a Sofia City Court judge and a former senior finance ministry official accused of involvement in the bribery case. Voicing confidence that he would be acquitted on that charge as well, Tsonev said on Wednesday he would sue Bulgaria at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over his "unlawful" 69-day detention.
In a separate case Wednesday, the Sofia Court of Appeals acquitted former State Agriculture Fund head Asen Drumev, eight months after he was sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling about 24m euros of EU funds under the SAPARD farm assistance programme.
Prosecutors have 15 days to challenge that ruling, which Drumev described as a "victory" for Bulgaria, arguing that the country would otherwise have to reimburse the EU with the money he was accused of having embezzled.
Wednesday's rulings followed the acquittal of two notorious former policemen-turned-businessmen from the town of Dupnitsa in southwestern Bulgaria. Plamen Galev and Angel Hristov, known as the "Galevi brothers" although they have no family relationship, were accused of leading an organised crime group, involved in fraud, racketeering and blackmail.
While prosecutors had sought an eight-year prison term for each, the regional court in Kyustendil cleared them of all charges at the end of their trial in early November.
Galev and Hristov were arrested in December 2008 following spectacular police raids of their homes and businesses in their town, which many refer to as Galevgrad, as well as in Sofia and the nearby town of Pernik. The two "brothers" then registered as majority candidates in the July 2009 parliamentary elections and were released from jail to campaign. They lost and ended up back behind bars.
This month's acquittals come in the wake of numerous similar court decisions that have eroded public confidence in the judicial system and have become a source of continuous EU criticism and calls for reforms.
Judges in Bulgaria usually explain the acquittals of suspected criminals or officials charged with corruption with the fact that prosecutors and police have failed to gather and provide solid evidence.
Nikolay Tsonev, who served as defence minister in the previous Socialist-led coalition government, was cleared of charges of mishandling over 4m euros through a deal for the purchase of a construction line that he approved in early 2009. Welcoming the Sofia City Court's ruling, he urged Bulgarians to keep their faith in the judiciary, which, according to a poll earlier this year, enjoys the trust of only 11% of citizens.
Prosecutors, who requested a prison sentence of four-and-a-half years, said on Wednesday they would challenge the verdict at a higher-instance court, claiming judges had failed to carefully examine the evidence.
Tsonev has also been charged with offering a 20,000-euro bribe to an investigator in a bid to block the probe into the 2009 purchase contract. He was arrested in April, along with a Sofia City Court judge and a former senior finance ministry official accused of involvement in the bribery case. Voicing confidence that he would be acquitted on that charge as well, Tsonev said on Wednesday he would sue Bulgaria at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over his "unlawful" 69-day detention.
In a separate case Wednesday, the Sofia Court of Appeals acquitted former State Agriculture Fund head Asen Drumev, eight months after he was sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling about 24m euros of EU funds under the SAPARD farm assistance programme.
Prosecutors have 15 days to challenge that ruling, which Drumev described as a "victory" for Bulgaria, arguing that the country would otherwise have to reimburse the EU with the money he was accused of having embezzled.
Wednesday's rulings followed the acquittal of two notorious former policemen-turned-businessmen from the town of Dupnitsa in southwestern Bulgaria. Plamen Galev and Angel Hristov, known as the "Galevi brothers" although they have no family relationship, were accused of leading an organised crime group, involved in fraud, racketeering and blackmail.
While prosecutors had sought an eight-year prison term for each, the regional court in Kyustendil cleared them of all charges at the end of their trial in early November.
Galev and Hristov were arrested in December 2008 following spectacular police raids of their homes and businesses in their town, which many refer to as Galevgrad, as well as in Sofia and the nearby town of Pernik. The two "brothers" then registered as majority candidates in the July 2009 parliamentary elections and were released from jail to campaign. They lost and ended up back behind bars.
This month's acquittals come in the wake of numerous similar court decisions that have eroded public confidence in the judicial system and have become a source of continuous EU criticism and calls for reforms.
Judges in Bulgaria usually explain the acquittals of suspected criminals or officials charged with corruption with the fact that prosecutors and police have failed to gather and provide solid evidence.
Acting on its pre-election promise to fight organised crime and corruption, the government of the centre-right party Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) has conducted numerous operations and arrests since taking office in July 2009. However, many of those detained have later been released by the courts.
Commenting on the latest acquittals Wednesday, a Reuters report said they would "further undermine" Bulgaria's "efforts to crack down on high-level corruption".
But after a meeting Wednesday with Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, US Ambassador to Sofia James Warlick acknowledged that efforts by authorities are working.
"Today, Sofia streets are safer than ever," Warlick said. "Tsvetanov is taking measures that have not been seen in 20 years."
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
Commenting on the latest acquittals Wednesday, a Reuters report said they would "further undermine" Bulgaria's "efforts to crack down on high-level corruption".
But after a meeting Wednesday with Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, US Ambassador to Sofia James Warlick acknowledged that efforts by authorities are working.
"Today, Sofia streets are safer than ever," Warlick said. "Tsvetanov is taking measures that have not been seen in 20 years."
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
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