"A war is being waged against the Prosecutor's Office. Only criminals are interested in this war. And the natural result of this fact is a crime boom. And the price for that will be paid by Bulgarian citizens." Thus, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria Ivan Geshev commented on the data presented by Sofia City Prosecutor's Office about an attempt for illegal influence against three supervising prosecutors in pre-trial proceedings of high public interest.
Ivan Geshev clarified that in his longstanding professional experience in law enforcement, he has witnessed for the first time "such unprecedented, illegal pressure on ordinary prosecutors and ladies". "Today they are, tomorrow they will be the judges, the next day you will be you or an ordinary citizen, the position that someone does not like," the Prosecutor General added.
Ivan Geshev said he did not agree with the explanations of the interim interior minister, according to him the case was a "professional conflict" between GDCOC officials and the supervising prosecutors from Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office. "This is not a professional conflict. This is probably illegal, unlawful pressure on magistrates to commit a crime against justice. Apparently some people consider, in my opinion, completely wrong, the basic European principles and standards, such as the rule of law and separation of powers. The independence of Bulgarian magistrates must be constantly defended in the interests of Bulgarian citizens. And Bulgarian citizens and society must know that we will work only in their interests. We will not be at war with anyone but crime, everything else is at the expense of those who do it, "the Prosecutor General added.
Deputy Prosecutor General Daniela Masheva expressed the position of the leadership of the Prosecutor's Office in defense of supervising prosecutors, who had been the subject of attempts for illegal interference in decision-making by law and internal conviction in a concrete pre-trial proceedings conducted by officials of the Ministry of Interior and GDCOC.
The leadership of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria:
expresses unconditional support to all magistrates, who in the performance of their functions are independent and subject only to the law, protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, legal entities and the state.
We strongly oppose to any attempt to influence, suggest, improperly influence, whether directly or indirectly, regardless of its source, means or form, with respect to any magistrate in the performance of his functions and in making decisions in accordance with law and internal conviction. Any such action is a direct threat to the rule of law and must be publicized and sanctioned in accordance with the law. Such acts constitute violations of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the current legislation and the law of the European Union.
We recall that the most important factor that connects the legal systems of the EU Member States is the independence of the Prosecution and prosecutors, as a guarantee of the rule of law. This condition was repeatedly emphasized in a number of strategic documents and opinions of European structures, including the last meeting of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors in November this year, dedicated to the independence of prosecutors and the Prosecution in the light of judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union, European Court of Human Rights and international courts.
We declare that necessary legal measures will be taken to ensure the security of the Bulgarian magistrates in the performance of their official duties, as well as the inviolability of their fundamental rights.
In view of the extreme importance and the risk of impacting the basic principles of the rule of law, the PORB will request assistance and will inform about the case the following institutions:
Prosecutor’s College of the Supreme Judicial Council, President of the National Assembly, President of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Prime Minister, Representatives of the European Commission, Embassies of all EU Member States in Bulgaria, Embassy of the United States of America, Embassy of the United Kingdom, European Parliament, The Council of Europe, the Venice Commission, the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors, the International Association of Prosecutors.
Deputy Prosecutor General and Director of the National Investigation Service Borislav Sarafov appealed “to the colleagues from the Ministry of Interior and colleagues from the Prosecutor’s Office - not to allow interpersonal conflicts, not to succumb to bacchanalia that will eventually lead to disintegration of the state. We see that the whole society wants a revival of both statehood and the stability of institutions. Everyone expects the officials from the governing authorities to behave like wise and dignified people. I appeal to everyone to behave wisely. "
“Everyone has his functions in the criminal process of detecting and proving crimes. It is our functions that society expects from us - fulfilling our commitments. Not interpersonal quarrels, not interpersonal conflicts. I would like to say that such things will have a negative impact on the investigation itself, if conflicts are introduced withinpre-trial proceedings between different bodies with different functions, this will ultimately lead to a fiasco, from which people and justice will actually suffer.“, said Borislav Sarafov.