The court returns to the prosecutor's office the case about the accident with Lyutvi Mestan

For the second time, the District Court in Kardzhali returned to the prosecution the indictment in the case of the serious accident in April 2019 in the area of the Momchilgrad village of Zagorsko with the participation of Lyutvi Mestan, in which a six-month-old baby died.

This happened at today's second dispositive hearing at the present court panel. We remind you that in addition to Lyutvi Mestan, the father of the dead baby, Yusein Ahmed, who was driving the family car on the day of the accident, is also accused in the trial.

The process has been going on for several years. In November 2023, a third dispositional hearing was held in the case due to the retirement of the then judge. The judicial panel terminated the court case and sent it back for removal of material procedural violations admitted at the pre-trial phase, which led to limitation of the procedural rights of the accused.

Then the state prosecution filed a protest, which was not respected. The three-member court panel again noted deficiencies in the submitted new indictment and terminated the proceedings for the second time pending the preparation of an indictment in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The request to return the case to the pre-trial phase was made by the legal defenders of both defendants. The motive of Ahmed Yussain's defense was that, in addition to being an accused, the father of the dead baby was also injured - he received medium bodily injuries, as well as suffered from the death of his child. The court rejected the request that he participate in the trial both as a victim and as an accused.

The motive of the defense of Lyutvi Mestan was that there are contradictions in the indictment, as well as that part of the indictment contradicts the expert opinions made in the trial. Also according to the former politician's lawyer Adv. Natsko Doichev, in the legal process it has not yet been clarified what the real cause of the accident was - whether the high speed of the family car, whether the failure to stop at the “Stop“ of Lutvi Mestan, whether the lack of sufficient visibility in the section.

In addition to terminating the proceedings and returning the indictment, Adv. Doichev also requested a dismissal of the state accusation against prosecutor Vasileva and prosecutor Georgieva.

The court did not grant this request, and the order is subject to appeal before the Court of Appeals-Plovdiv.