The Prosecutor's Office used yesterday's statement by the former Deputy Mayor of Varna Diyan Ivanov that he testified against Blagomir Kotsev under pressure as an argument to ask the Sofia Court of Appeal to confirm the permanent arrest of the Varna mayor and the other three defendants for corruption crimes.
For over three hours, the defenders of the detainees motivated why they should be released. The defendants themselves also wanted to leave the detention with the argument that they will not hide and are most interested in the investigation going quickly and the truth coming to light.
Blagomir Kotsev said he is not a lawyer, but his case looks like "a complaint by a woman who lost a public procurement contract because someone else offered a lower price".
In a short 15-minute statement, prosecutor Kalin Bliznakov said that the accused should remain in custody and referred to, except for the witness Dimitrova and Dian Ivanov, who recanted his testimony. He said that since he was not being questioned again, his first testimony remains valid. From the reversal with Ivanov, he drew the danger that if Kotsev and the other detainees were released, they could influence witnesses. This is what happened, according to Bliznakov, with Ivanov, who reversed his testimony.
"If the prosecution has such data, it should have questioned him yesterday and asked if anyone had suggested anything to him. On the other hand, it should have initiated an investigation into his claim that he was pressured by known CPC officials. There is no evidence that he was pressured beyond that by CPC inspectors, which the man signed and asked to be questioned. The prosecutor's office is abusing its rights by making such suggestions. It has not fulfilled its obligations for an objective investigation by summoning and questioning him," commented Kotsev's defense attorney, attorney Ina Lulcheva.
What the court's decision will be will become clear at 9 p.m. at the earliest.