The five minor defendants in the case of the brutal beating of a man in Plovdiv remain in custody as an exception. This was announced by judge Petko Minev from the Plovdiv District Court. According to him, such a measure is imposed extremely rarely, since minor perpetrators are usually given lighter measures of detention.
From late Tuesday afternoon, when the murder was committed, to Friday morning, when the case was submitted to the court, the investigative authorities have collected a significant amount of evidence. According to the judge, they paint a serious picture of what happened. According to him, actions were taken on the Youth Hill that he had never seen in his 20-year professional experience.
According to the collected data, the man climbed the hill, where the young people were divided into two groups. The first group found the victim - Georgi Kuzev, and began the brutal beating. Later, the second group joined them.
Then the bullying began. The youths first humiliated Kuzev on the subject of male dignity, told him that they would castrate him on the spot, and tried to burn one of his ears with a lighter.
After his skull was shattered, the attackers used his wound as an ashtray, shaking cigarette ashes into it and extinguishing them on his body.
“They used deodorant to spray his wounds, joking that they would disinfect him“, said Judge Petko Minev.
During the attack, two belts were also used, with which the man was forcibly strangled. Two boys tried to intervene because they were afraid that the victim would be killed. Then the man was turned on his stomach and beaten with the same two belts.
The attackers asked him if he had a family. He replied that his parents had been struck by lightning. The youths joked that he was obviously looking for a wife, then hit him in the mouth with a Cuban knife and told him that he would not be looking for a wife, but for his teeth.
The youths also carried a small emergency hammer. They mocked the man for being poor and having an old phone, then smashed the device with the hammer.
After the event, one of the abusers exclaimed that this was their first “action”. According to the judge, the youths experienced themselves as “pedophile hunters”. They took out a flag with a swastika and took a photo that looked like a family photo, with their first agonizing victim in the background. The entire cruelty was filmed and posted on social media.
The beating and abuse lasted about an hour. The attackers also tried to draw a swastika on Kuzev's hand, but failed due to the heavy bleeding.
After the beating, the suspects took the victim's money and left. On the way, they met a man walking his child, who has autism. He was making inarticulate sounds. The group passed by them and started to "grunt", after which the young people burst into laughter. A little later, the same parent found the victim of the beating, brought him water and suggested that he call 112.
After the act, the group went to eat doner kebabs, and then bought a large bottle of vodka and energy drinks.
People from the defendants' company were also questioned. There were also those who refused to be part of it, as they described the young people as people who drank on the benches and made fun of people.
Apart from the five defendants, other individuals were also mentioned in the courtroom. One of the detainees spoke about a group called “Kuklux Klan 2013 Plovdiv“.
“Such type of aggression is usually not the first manifestation. Before such an act is committed, smaller manifestations are usually carried out“, commented the judge.
In this particular case, there are two hypotheses according to the age of the defendants. For persons who have reached the age of 14, but not 16, the law provides for a reduction of the punishment, which is from 3 to 10 years of imprisonment. For those who have reached the age of 16, the punishment provided is from 5 to 12 years of imprisonment. If convicted, they will be placed in correctional institutions until they turn 18. The boys will be in the correctional home in Boychinovtsi, and the girls - in a prison dormitory at the prison in Sliven.
“My reading of the facts speaks of an organized attitude to punish the specific victim for their perceived pedophile attitudes. I have never seen such humiliation of a person in my experience. There is not a healthy spot on the man's entire body“, said Judge Petko Minev“, Minev said.
Various sources in the early stages of the proceedings say that the victim is a lonely man who sells potatoes at the market. He dreamed of having a family and children.