The persons accused of the brutal murder of the young man in Plovdiv, if proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, must suffer a punishment commensurate with the extreme gravity of the act committed.
And here I want to emphasize something extremely important - the victim is not a proven pedophile! In a state governed by law, no one has the right to pronounce sentences on their own, much less to become simultaneously a prosecutor, judge and executioner. Guilt is established only by the court, with a final verdict.
If the publicly announced circumstances of the manner of the murder, the suffering caused to the victim, as well as the filming and distribution of the video recording are proven, then society has every right to ask the question - whether the current Criminal Code provides for an adequate sanction for such crimes.
Currently, Bulgarian criminal law provides for a special, more favorable regime for minor perpetrators, including a mandatory reduction of the penalties, which for an adult perpetrator could be life imprisonment or life imprisonment without parole.
In my opinion, this issue should already be raised before the National Assembly - now!
In the case of extremely serious intentional crimes against the person committed by minors who were capable of understanding the nature and meaning of their actions and guiding their behavior, the legislator must discussed the possibility that the court would not be automatically bound by the current reduction in punishment.
I am not calling for automatic sentences. I call for the court to have the opportunity, in strictly defined and exceptional cases, after an individual assessment of the perpetrator's personality, the degree of public danger, the manner of commission and all evidence in the case, to impose the most severe punishment provided for by law.
Therefore, I call on the MPs from the ruling Progressive Bulgaria Party to prepare a Law amending and supplementing the Criminal Code as soon as possible and to request the convening of an extraordinary session of the National Assembly. To interrupt their summer vacation, because this is about a human life being taken and because aggression and violence by minors in Bulgaria continues even after this case!
They have the necessary parliamentary majority and there is no reason for this issue to be postponed. Unless they tolerate this type of crime and want the murderers to get away with light punishments! And I am convinced that with a well-argued and legally precise bill, support will be found among the other parliamentary groups.
The ball is in your hands, Mr. Rumen Radev!
When society is faced with a case of such severe violence, the political response should not be shifted to media sensationalism and disputes about monuments. It should be institutional, legislative and responsible. At the right height.
What monuments are we talking about when we are faced with the question of whether the law is fair enough, regarding some of the most serious crimes against human life, and when juvenile beasts kill?
A politician must think through every word he says and foresee its social consequences. Especially when it comes to murder, human life and the sense of justice of the entire society.
Changes to the Penal Code. This is the debate that needs to start. Now!
And the possibility of life imprisonment for juvenile offenders - only in extremely serious cases, explicitly defined by law, upon proven guilt and after an individual assessment by the court.
Because age should be a factor in determining the punishment, but it should not in itself become an absolute barrier to justice.