The former mayor of the capital's Mladost district, Desislava Ivancheva, returned home late last night after being officially pardoned by Vice President Iliana Yotova and released from prison in Sliven.
Six hours after leaving prison, Ivancheva hugged her son. She spent her first day of freedom with him.
„I can't be happy and I can't believe that all this drama is behind me. That from now on, we will be alone. When a person is in prison, he analyzes his life… You appreciate every moment and realize that outside you were angry about things that weren't worth it“, Ivancheva told Nova TV
Seven years after her arrest, Ivancheva says she doesn't regret entering politics, even though her path led her to prison. In her words, she comes out of there “more experienced and stronger“.
“I haven't analyzed what I'm going to do yet, I'll definitely want to build memories with my son, because I don't have any so far“, she adds.
Ivancheva is currently pursuing several lawsuits – one is related to denied treatment in the Sliven prison, and the other – to the circumstances surrounding her arrest itself.
“Cases are slow in Bulgaria, and quite expensive. But it's worth it, so there's retribution," she says.
She is also considering the possibility of filing a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. According to her, the reopening of her case in Bulgaria is blocked by current legislation:
„Unfortunately, the legislation states that in order for the case to be reopened, the Prosecutor General must decide on it. But in our case, this cannot happen, since he himself is a participant in our preparation“, said Ivancheva.
The Prosecutor General's Office clarified to NOVA that they would not comment on such allegations.