In a position sent to the media, Minister of Justice Nikolay Naydenov responded to the accusations of former Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov. In an open letter sent to Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Minister of Interior Ivan Demerdzhiev and DANS, Sarafov accused Naydenov of trying to control the next Supreme Judicial Council through preliminary selection of candidates for the key personnel body. The ultimate goal was to have the current minister elected as Prosecutor General.
"In one of my first public statements after taking office as Minister of Justice, I called on Mr. Borislav Sarafov to show enough honor and retire from the system himself, indicating that I would congratulate him if this happened. Mr. Sarafov did not deserve such congratulations. As Minister of Justice, I receive magistrates in my office at the Ministry. This is part of my job and I will continue to do so. Among them were those who stated that they were pressured. No candidate for the Supreme Judicial Council has received promises, commitments or a request for loyalty from me, neither in the Ministry nor elsewhere. I did not seek support for the election of a prosecutor general, even less for myself," Naydenov stated.
"The company mentioned in the letter sells and services cars, as well as insuring them, and I have visited their office for personal reasons. No meetings with candidates for the Supreme Judicial Council have been held there. If Mr. Sarafov has information about a crime committed, as an investigator he knows well the procedure for reporting it. This procedure does not go through the media," the Minister of Justice pointed out.
"The typical method used by those who compile compromising materials is to link real events to fabricated statements in order to give credibility to the overall story. The fact that I have visited a car dealership and a service station, where I service my personal car and pay insurance, as well as the fact that I have received magistrates in my office at the Ministry of Justice, are conveniently woven into a compromising attack. I do not know whether it is an expression of Mr. Sarafov's irritation that I will appeal the refusal to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him in an institutional capacity, or whether there is something bigger behind it - by creating an artificial scandal, the failure of the upcoming election of a new composition of the Supreme Judicial Council is pursued and the current comfortable status quo remains in power", commented Nikolay Naydenov.
"I do not undertake to assess Mr. Sarafov's motives. However, I will not allow this dispute to divert attention from the essential: the election of the SJC, in which candidates are judged on professionalism and integrity. I would only note that, unlike his previous actions, Mr. Sarafov seems to have reacted as a true investigator /according to his own understanding/ and has used the tools available to him to inform and control my meetings in the ministry and outside it. The problem here is not personal, but institutional and as such should find its solution. I will take action to defend myself against Mr. Sarafov's actions in accordance with the procedure established by law, without using the media for this", the position of the Minister of Justice also states.