Taxi drivers are organizing today between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. protests in front of courthouses in six cities - Sofia, Yambol, Plovdiv, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo and Vratsa. They demand fair sentences for armed robbery and attempted murder of their colleague Apostol Valchev from Yambol, announced the National Taxi Trade Union.
Today, for the third time, the Supreme Court of Cassation will hear the case of the attack on taxi driver Apostol Valchev. It is not over yet, so far it has passed several times through different instances, due to appeals from both sides. Protests were organized several times in Sofia and in Yambol by taxi drivers, BTA specified.
Seven years ago (on December 11, 2017) Apostol Valchev was shot by two students - 14 and 18 years old, after he responded to an errand near the Yambol village of Drazevo. They attacked him with an air rifle disguised as a firearm, a gas pistol and a knife in order to take 52 BGN turnover from him. The taxi driver underwent a series of life-saving operations.
Initially, the Yambol District Court found the defendants guilty of attempted robbery accompanied by attempted murder. Kostadin Stoyanov was sentenced to six years “imprisonment”, and Simeon Dimitrov – 16 years in prison.
After appeal Court of Appeal – Burgas reduced their sentences – to Simeon Dimitrov at 15 years “imprisonment”, and to Kostadin Stoyanov – two years and four months, and the act was reclassified as attempted robbery with moderate bodily harm.