Former Deputy Mayor of Sofia Nikola Barbutov and Businessman Petar Rafailov Remain Permanently in Arrest, the Court of Appeal in Sofia has decided.
They are accused of participating in an organized criminal group for official crimes and bribery.
Barbutov and Rafailov were detained after the mayors of the districts of “Lyulin“ and “Mladost“ publicly announced that there were irregularities in the Sofia Municipality. Two more people are accused in the case - Sonya Klisurska and Rositsa Pandova, on whom the prosecutor's office imposed measures of “cash bail“.
Barbutov's defense attorney Ina Lulcheva stated that the measure of detention is not a punishment. The stay in custody is not for the purpose of the prosecution's work. It is not true that people have been introduced into the commissions in the municipalities, as is claimed, said Lulcheva.
We are talking about future uncertain events in which percentages are promised, the lawyer also said and defined what is happening as repression.