Judge Vladislava Tsarigradska called on the institutions to conduct a comprehensive investigation into all cases in which SRCs were used against judges and prosecutors, and that this is a structured network and control system. The reason for her request was the "CorruptionLeaks" investigation, which showed that the names of numerous magistrates have been included in requests and authorizations for wiretapping and surveillance in recent years.
"For me, there is nothing scandalous in what has been coming out in recent days and weeks thanks to the investigative journalists from Bird.bg and their colleagues, who process a huge array of information and present it in a way accessible to the public. For me, this is rather worrying. Back on February 13, 2024 - during my hearing at the Supreme Judicial Council after the murder of Martin Bozanov - the Notary, I called for an institutional review and response to the then already visible danger of abuse of the instruments of secret control - the SRCs, but not only them. It is also about prosecutorial inspections, inspections by the National Revenue Agency and other pressure mechanisms". This was stated in “Hello, Bulgaria” on Nova TV by the member of the Board of the Union of Judges in Bulgaria.
According to her, unfortunately, the judiciary has not been able, through its highest body, to provide an institutional answer to the question of whether the judicial system was vulnerable. “It was at the moment when I called for these circumstances to be checked that the so-called threats from the “Red Pirate“ and other similar actions were activated. For me, this was a clear sign of how significant this information is for maintaining a model of fear and obedience," she recalled.
According to Tsarigradska, it is precisely this fear that the authorities are constantly watching you, that they are tapping your phone and monitoring your life, that is destructive to democracy. "Because judges, who are highly educated and well-versed in the way the system functions, understand perfectly the possibilities of this toolkit. When they realize that they can easily be placed under such surveillance, they inevitably begin to take this risk into account. And this undermines the independence that is the basis of fair justice," she is categorical.
According to her, "in principle, secret control with special intelligence means is not something harmful". "On the contrary. In modern society, especially in the case of serious organized crime and corruption, it is the special intelligence means that are necessary and sometimes are a condition without which these crimes cannot be proven. I am not saying that judges are not subject to secret control. On the contrary. But the only legitimate purpose of this secret control is to reveal and prosecute perpetrators of crimes. And we see total control and zero results", she emphasized.
And she added that in her opinion this could mean actually established criminal activity that is covered up, but in this way the person becomes "subordinate for life". "My appeal is for an institutional response that requires opening these cases, of course while complying with all requirements for the protection of information, both of classified information, when there is such, and of sensitive information from people's private lives. This should be done in an institutional way, so that an analysis can be made of whether these are isolated cases of abuse or what I suspect and what journalistic revelations already show - a structured network and system of control", the judge urged.
According to her, if this system works, it does not only affect the judiciary. It affects all important individuals who participate in public life and shape public opinion. "This is also used against politicians", she pointed out.