Today it became clear that investigators are checking the phones of everyone involved in the group. Videos filmed months ago are also being reviewed. So it is not ruled out that there will be new arrests in the coming days.
And today the decision of the Appeals Court is final and cannot be appealed.
Among the reasons for the decision to keep the girls in custody is that, according to the investigators, they are connected to groups with neo-Nazi leanings, whose goal is to commit crimes based on racial or homophobic principles.
We recall that the two girls who were accused together with three other teenagers for the brutal murder in Plovdiv remain in custody. The girls – aged 15 and 17 - appealed the measure imposed on them "detention in custody", but the request was rejected by the city's Court of Appeal. A protest in front of the building accompanied the judges' session. "Don't let the institutions not work and mock us", said the protesters. A demand for justice and support for the family of the murdered Georgi was the motive for hundreds of people to come to a peaceful protest in front of the courthouse before the hearing in the case.
“We insist on justice and righteousness! And with this outdated Criminal Code, which currently has no deterrent effect, I don't know how this will happen!“, says Stoyan, Georgi's neighbor from Krichim. “Our eyes are fixed on the prosecutor's office, we want answers - why these ten people are not being held in custody. "Records have been leaked showing people hitting the defenseless Georgi without taking any precautions," said Atanas Boyadzhiev, the organizer of the protest.
The protesters lit a candle in memory of the murdered man and lined up to sign a petition demanding stricter punishments for juvenile delinquents. Only the two girls out of the five accused so far of the murder appealed the measure of "detention in custody" imposed on them. The hearing was held behind closed doors. The defenders of the two girls requested a lighter measure - that they remain at home under the supervision of their families. According to the lawyers, the girls did not participate in the beating.
"The people who committed the act were not in the courtroom on August 7, and they are not here today," said Atanas Milkov, a lawyer. However, the prosecutor's office claims the opposite and announced that new evidence has been collected.
“There is evidence that the girls actively participated in the act they committed. If she admits to hitting someone - it explains the actions of the group“, says Stefani Cheresharova, a prosecutor in the case. While the court was in session, the protesters chanted under the windows. After a two-hour session, the judge confirmed the measures of the District Court and left the girls in custody on the grounds that they could commit a new crime.
“If these girls had been released, it means that tomorrow, the day after tomorrow they will have a new victim“, says Gergana Balabanova, a protester. The prosecutor's office said that an active investigation is underway and it is not excluded that there will be new arrests.