The Military Court of Appeals in Sofia is deciding whether to confirm the release without a detention order of National Security Service employee Martin Varadinov. He is accused of causing moderate bodily harm to Sonya Koltuklieva after an incident in front of the headquarters of “Progressive Bulgaria“ in Sofia.
According to the prosecutor's office, Varadinov's actions led to Koltuklieva's bodily harm. The prosecution claims that the employee pushed her, causing her to fall to the ground.
The first instance court refused to impose the most severe measure of “detention in custody“, and then did not determine any other detention order. The magistrates accepted that the collected data did not allow a sufficiently substantiated conclusion to be drawn that Varadinov had struck.
The court also referred to the camera recordings, which, according to its reasoning, showed a push, but not a blow. The magistrates also accepted that there was no real danger that the accused would flee or commit a new crime.
Following the decision of the first instance, the prosecution requested that the case be reviewed by the Military Court of Appeal. The appellate magistrates must assess whether to uphold Varadinov's release or impose a detention order.
Until the court's ruling, the accusation against the officer has not been proven by a final court decision.