He was the first to start investigating the prosecutor's son Vasil Mihaylov. What happened to the cases and what should be the maximum sentence? The prosecutor from the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office Georgi Ivanov spoke exclusively to Stoyan Neshev.
"The saga with Vasil Mihaylov began after video recordings became publicly known in society, showing violent acts and beatings against various citizens in the city of Pernik. At that moment, the prosecutors in Pernik recused themselves due to acquaintances with his father, who is a former deputy district prosecutor of Pernik. By decree of the Prosecutor General, the investigation was assigned to the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office, and by chance the first investigation fell to me". This was told by prosecutor Ivanov.
“The very fact that initially no one believed that he would ever be convicted of any act, I believe, shows that when there is teamwork and the necessary efforts are made, any criminal proceeding can be concluded“, the magistrate emphasized.
According to him, during the initial pre-trial proceedings, Mihaylov was brought as a defendant for eight crimes. An indictment was drawn up and the case was submitted to the court. “In 2025, in this case, he was sentenced to “imprisonment“ in the amount of 4 years. The verdict has not yet entered into force. I protested it. In my plea, I requested a sentence of 11 years and 11 months of imprisonment," the magistrate explained.
In this case, the victims are 11 people who have been victims of Vasil Mihaylov's actions for years. The prosecutor said that in his opinion, people initially did not want to file reports. "Later, they were encouraged to do so by the wife of football coach Rumen Andonov. After that, many people started to file reports. Initially, charges were filed for three acts, but during the investigation, more were established, and in the end, the indictment covered eight crimes," Ivanov emphasized.
Mihaylov is currently in prison on the case of the prosecutor from the SRP. "Meanwhile, during the criminal proceedings, I was again appointed as a supervising prosecutor on two more cases against him. In one case, he was sentenced to 1 year and 8 months in prison with a 4-year probationary period, and this court order has entered into force. In the other case, for threats against his ex-girlfriend, a sentence of 1 year in prison with a 3-year probationary period was initially imposed. I protested this sentence. The city court upheld my protest and imposed the most severe sentence overall - 1 year and 8 months in prison," the prosecutor said.
However, Mikhailov managed to escape before the sentence entered into force. "I insisted on detention in custody, but because he was initially unconvicted and the criminal proceedings developed over time, his detention measure was gradually changed," Ivanov emphasized.
According to him, it is currently impossible to say how long Mikhailov will be in prison. The actual sentence served also depends on whether he will do hard labor while serving the sentence.
When asked if there was a feeling that the victims began to cooperate more over time, the prosecutor replied: "Yes. At some point, the witnesses began to believe that measures would be taken, and began to actively cooperate with the investigative authorities. For this, they should be congratulated".
According to prosecutor Ivanov, the investigations were completed within a reasonable and objectively possible timeframe. During the trial, Mihaylov changed defense attorneys, which to some extent also led to delays.
The magistrate also commented on the question of whether there was evidence of patronage of Mihaylov by the prosecution. "I have not seen such evidence. If I had, I would have filed a report with the competent authorities. The question of whether there was patronage and by whom is for the investigative authorities," he is categorical.