The appellate court thus changed the verdict of the Burgas District Court, which had imposed a 20-year prison sentence on the defendant.
According to the appellate judges, this punishment is clearly unfair and does not correspond to the extreme gravity of the crime, the public danger of the act and the perpetrator, and the purposes of the punishment.
The court emphasizes that this is not a one-time violation of traffic rules or a momentary incorrect reaction.
“The collision is the final moment of prolonged behavior“, the appellate judges state.
During the pursuit, Omar Adnan repeatedly refused to comply the lawful police orders to stop, continued to drive the multi-ton bus at high speed and prevented police cars from overtaking it.
At the “Trapezitsa“ intersection, the bus was traveling at about 78 km/h and hit a patrol car with its lights on. The impact killed the officers of the First District Police Department in Burgas, Yordan Iliev and Atanas Gradev.
As a significant circumstance, the court also took into account the fact that Omar Adnan was an unlicensed driver. There were 47 passengers on the bus, including women and children, and some of them were on the floor and between the seats without a normal possibility of securing them.
According to the court, the danger was not limited only to the passengers and police officers. Specific situations were also identified in which the defendant's behavior created an immediate risk to other road users.
The appellate judges also focused on his behavior immediately after the collision. The court noted the lack of braking reaction after the initial impact, the departure from the scene of the accident and the subsequent escape.
The decision states that the defendant's behavior reveals not a momentary error in judgment, but “exceptional persistence of the decision to continue the immediately pursued unlawful goal“, despite the constantly increasing danger to the life and health of many people.
The court accepts that the act requires a prolonged institutional impact on the defendant.
The appellate panel is also categorical regarding general prevention. According to the magistrates, the deliberate driving of a motor vehicle in a manner that creates a continuous and immediate risk to the lives of multiple persons, combined with repeated disobedience to police orders and resulting in the intentional causing of death in the event of intent, requires the strictest and fairest possible punitive response.
According to the court, the maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years does not sufficiently reflect the exceptional gravity of the crime and does not provide the necessary punitive, corrective and re-educational impact.
Therefore, the Burgas Court of Appeals defines as a fair punishment “life imprisonment“ with an initial special regime.
The decision is subject to appeal and protest before the Supreme Court of Cassation within 15 days.