The National Assembly has been convened for an extraordinary session due to the case of the pardon of Ognyan Atanasov, known as "Petrich Escobar". The session is scheduled for 9:00 a.m., and there is only one item on the agenda - hearing representatives of the institutions related to the documents and circumstances surrounding his release.
Among those invited are the Director General of the General Directorate "Execution of Sentences" Ivaylo Yordanov, the head of the Sofia Prison Svetoslav Penov and Vasil Kordev, who led the prison in November and December 2022. Added to them are the head of the sector “Medical Services in Places of Deprivation of Liberty“ at the General Directorate of Prisons, the doctor who prepared or signed the medical report for Atanasov, as well as the director of the Specialized Hospital at the Sofia Prison.
What will the deputies clarify
The hearing is related to the medical reports and information about Atanasov's behavior, used in his pardon by decree of December 5, 2022. The chairman of the Presidential Pardon Commission has also been invited.
Information will also be sought in the parliament about the way in which the incident with a fight in the prison hospital on November 16, 2022 was covered – 19 days before the decree is issued. Questions are planned about possible pressure and threats against doctors and their relatives, as well as about the exchange of information between the prison administration, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the services and the presidential institution.
The list of those heard includes the chairman of the State Security Agency, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the director of the Directorate for the Prevention of Corruption. The deputies will also discuss whether there was any evidence of Atanasov's connections with the State Security Agency or the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as what checks have been undertaken in the case.
The previous session failed
The parliament already made an attempt to consider the case on October 13, but the session did not start due to lack of quorum. At that time, it was planned to hear three representatives of the prison administration.
The initiative for the hearing is from “We Continue the Change“, with the necessary signatures to convene the meeting supported by GERB-SDF and “Democratic Bulgaria“. Speaking to the Bulgarian National Radio, the chairman of the parliamentary group of “We Continue the Change“ Nikolay Denkov stated: “I assure everyone that after the elections we will again want this information to be clarified.“
The extraordinary meeting is being held during a period in which the National Assembly is not supposed to work from October 21 to 30 due to the second round of the presidential elections and the possible run-off. Its holding will depend on the registration of the required number of MPs.
Sources: bnrnews.bg, bntnews.bg