The case against Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev will be heard in Varna, the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) decided. This became an occasion for a comment by Kotsev's lawyer Ina Lulcheva in the program “Your Day“ on NOVA NEWS, where she described the actions of the prosecutor's office as a “tricky trick” aimed at keeping the case in Sofia.
Lawyer Ina Lulcheva described what happened as "abuse of power by the prosecutor's office, which the court tolerated under the measures". According to her, the prosecution used a "tricky trick" by including "an unknown MP" in the indictment so that the case could be in the Sofia City Court.
"This is a bit schizophrenic - it is both an unknown person and a person with immunity. There is no unknown MP. All MPs are known", commented lawyer Lulcheva. She added that the only MP named by witness Plamenka Dimitrova is Assen Vassilev, but the prosecution claims that the MP is unknown.
According to lawyer Lulcheva, the case should be sent to Varna within a day, after which the Varna District Court should request the transfer of Blagomir Kotsev from the Sofia to the Varna prison. She expects the request to change his detention measure to be considered immediately. "I hope that by the end of this week the detention order will be reviewed more quickly", Lulcheva said.
The lawyer is adamant that the evidence in the case is weak and is based solely on the testimonies of several witnesses. According to her, the volumes in the case are "empty", and the indictment is built on allegations that other individuals requested bribes on behalf of the mayor, but not a single witness claims that Kotsev personally requested money.
She expressed doubt that the goal of the trial is to reveal the objective truth: "So far, the court has said that Blagomir Kotsev should be detained because they questioned witnesses and demanded documents and he would have hindered the investigation. Now this is no longer the case and there is no reason for Mr. Kotsev to continue to be in custody, unless the reason is what we have assumed from the very beginning, namely - to remove him as mayor and serve as a sign to all future candidates for such positions who would dare to stand not on the side of the government.