Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov stated that the refusal of the Prosecutorial College of the Supreme Judicial Council to temporarily remove the Sofia City Prosecutor Emilia Rusinova was not a surprise to him. He indicated that he was considering a judicial appeal, but would first familiarize himself with the college's motives.
„I did not expect good developments, although I still hoped that they would show some sense. But apparently the status quo in the judiciary continues to operate in the well-known way“, commented Naydenov, quoted by BNT.
According to him, the case will be a kind of test of the new authority he received after the adoption of the legal changes.
„Now we will see whether the court will consider such a complaint, if it is filed. And whether it will be well-founded is a question that I cannot answer in advance“, said the minister.
Naydenov linked the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office to a number of sensitive investigations and suggested that keeping Rusinova in office may be related to one of them.
„The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office has become a kind of hub for sensitive investigations. I assume that the retention of Emilia Rusinova is related to one of them,“ said Naydenov.
He cited as an example the case known as “Hemusgate“, in which, according to him, “things are more than worrying“ due to the lack of development.
“After part of the investigations in this case were made public, it did not continue in any way. And especially considering the fact that if you follow the career development of the prosecutors who worked on it subsequently, after the removal of the initial prosecutor in this case, you will see that they were all promoted. Immediately after the completion of their work, I would say“, the minister also pointed out.
Naydenov also commented on the expected motives for the refusal of the Prosecutor's College. According to him, if the reason is indeed the lack of data that Rusinova can influence prosecutors in the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office, this would be untenable.
“Every administrative manager has powers with respect to his subordinate prosecutors“, said Naydenov.