The Sofia City Court will rule within the legal deadline of a month whether to confiscate the car of Ivaylo Tsvetkov – Noizy, who was caught driving while intoxicated. He gave up his car himself after the judge from the Sofia District Court did not confiscate the car in the first instance.
This decision led to a prosecutorial investigation against the judge. The prosecutor who conducted the investigation was heard today, bTV specified.
In his hearing, prosecutor Yordan Petrov stated that the signal came from the association “Angels on the Road“ because of the decision of judge Miroslav Petrov not to seize Noyzi's car.
„In the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office, Sofia District Court, as far as I know - this is the only panel with such a long-standing practice, without committing to any statistics“, said Nikolay Nikolaev, a prosecutor in the SRP.
The case escalated after the examined judge Miroslav Petrov complained about pressure from the prosecutor's office over his actions.
The prosecutors were defended by the prosecutor's panel. However, the judge's panel did not listen to the judge because of a postponed hearing. In his first television interview for bTV, the judge explained his position on the seizure of a car from drunk drivers as follows:
„I have never denied the need for this measure, but not in this form. Because in this case, the legislator has provided for an imperative, mandatory seizure of the motor vehicle. In this case, I have decided that the Constitution as the supreme law and the law of the European Union should be applied. This is not some kind of arbitrariness. This is my duty. Please do not force me to compromise with my conscience, to violate my inner conviction.“
The association “Angels on the Road“ will also come to the council for the second time next week for a hearing together with Judge Petrov.
The judge motivated his refusal with the Constitution, that private property is inviolable. According to Prosecutor Petrov, the judge has immunity, but in the report against him there were sufficient doubts about a corruption crime being committed. But he terminated the investigation due to the lack of such.
“Literally after the investigation was carried out, I received information that the judge had always ruled like this. That is why similar acts were immediately requested to prove this thesis, which would have been a categorical motive for the judge's acquittal“, said Petrov.
His colleague Nikolay Nikolaev, who was the prosecutor in the case against Noyzi at first instance, reiterated that Judge Petrov is the only one who refuses to seize the drivers' cars.
“In the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office, Sofia District Court, as far as I know - this is the only panel with such a long-standing practice, without committing to any statistics“, said Nikolay Nikolaev, a prosecutor in the SRP.
The case escalated after the examined judge Miroslav Petrov complained about pressure from the prosecutor's office over his actions.
The prosecutors were defended by the prosecutor's panel. However, the judge's panel did not hear the judge because the hearing was postponed.