The Sofia District Prosecutor's Office has initiated pre-trial proceedings in the case of a dog run over by a car in Sofia, the Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev announced on Facebook.
"I recall that only 4 months ago, at my suggestion, changes were made to the Criminal Code precisely because of horrific cases of sadistic treatment of animals," the Minister wrote and added that the punishment "deprivation of liberty" has been increased to 4 years in cases of cruelty that caused death or serious injury, and to 8 years when intent is established and the act was committed in a particularly painful way for the animal.
Cruelty to a dog in the capital's "Razsadnika" district caused a wave of outrage after videos of the incident were shared on social media.
The footage shows a car pulling out of a parking lot running over a dog lying on the sidewalk. The car stops for a moment, the driver gets out and sees that he has crushed the animal with one of the tires. However, he gets back into the car and drives off, leaving the dog helpless.
The Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs (SDVR) specified that they identified the perpetrator immediately after a report of a scandal at the scene of the incident was filed. He is a 29-year-old citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia who has no criminal record.
The man confessed to the police, explaining that he performed the maneuver unintentionally and denies that there was any intent in his actions. His alcohol test was negative.