Three people were charged with the attack on the investigative journalist Slavi Angelov

27 April 2020

The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office charged three people – G.A., N.A. and B.M. in regard to the beating of the journalist Slavi Angelov on 17.03.2020. The three of them were accused of taking part in criminal association, causing grievous bodily injury and possession of drugs.

During the conducted searches and seizures in the inhabited places of the defendants and their cars, were found and confiscated numerous objects, related to the criminal proceedings – mobile phones, SIM cards, USB, computers, clothes, shoes, hammers, blackjacks, stun sticks, handcuffs, military smoke balls, huge amount of money, a flag with swastika, the book of Adolf Hitler “My Kampf” and drugs – cocaine as well.

By the inspection of the car, samplings and biological material were seized in order to be examined its DNA.

On April 25, 2020 a request will be brought to the Special Criminal Court to impose the most severe pre-trial detention measures to the three accused people.

 “Despite the state of emergency the colleagues from the Ministry of Interior, together with the supervising prosecutors, worked really hard and in due time collected evidences, which we hope to be properly evaluated by the Specialized Criminal Court and to impose pre-trial detention measures of the three defendants”, said the Prosecutor General of the Republic Bulgaria Ivan Geshev during the official briefing in the Palace of Justice.

“I would like to express my gratitude to our colleagues for their round-the-clock work. Although the officials of the Ministry of Interior are engaged with unspecific activities during the state of emergency, they continue to work on the investigation. This case is an attack against our country. The main hypothesis is that the attack is related with the work of journalist Slavi Angelov and it is a result of activity of people, who want to destabilize the country; they are subject of prosecution and are located outside the borders of the country and are hiding”, states the Prosecutor General.

Ivan Geshev also stressed that, although the detection of guarantors in this type of crimes is complicated, the investigation activities in this direction are ongoing.