“The fact that you have been a witness until now does not protect you from bringing charges”, said Boyko Naydenov, former director of the National Investigation Service, in the program "This Morning". and former deputy chief prosecutor, on the occasion of the case with the former chief secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Zhivko Kotsev.
„After the charge is filed, a remand measure can be taken. There may be restrictions on movement, on leaving the country, but this does not mean that a person is guilty. The charge may not be brought to court at all”, Naydenov specified.
“I specifically do not know what is in the covers of the case. What was leaked to the media, if true, then in any case he himself gives explanations that he is a member of some criminal group. He says he knew they were smugglers. He received gifts. Here it leads me to think that liability could be sought if he was given things to do or not do something on duty. These are just guesses. I read somewhere that an official charge will be filed, which is harder to prove. I don't know what the colleagues will come up with. Most likely they have more data and proof“, he pointed out.
„The Criminal Procedure Code forbids bringing charges based on confessions. If this is the only evidence, it cannot be grounds for indictment. First, a crime must be proven. In order to have a criminal group, there must be a criminal group”, commented the former director of the National Investigation Service.
“I would not engage with the claim that this is an organized crime group. Only the court can decide that. If we talk about them like that, they can sue us. "It's easy to claim something, but it's hard to prove it," he added.
„Leaking information from the prosecutor's office will fulfill another task, but not the objectives of the Criminal Procedure Code, namely punishing a person who has committed a crime. Photographs can only serve as indirect evidence that certain persons know each other and were at the same time in the same place. If they claim they don't know each other, that's proof they do. To me, the poodle with the money has no bearing on the investigation. Having some money somewhere doesn't mean anything. "Suggestions are being made," emphasized the former deputy chief prosecutor.