The Sofia City Court did not grant the request of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev to amend his preventive measure "detention in custody" and left him in arrest, dariknews.bg reports. The ruling is not final and is subject to appeal.
Judge Ani Zaharieva pointed out that there continues to be a reasonable assumption of Kotsev's involvement in the crime for which he is accused, based on the oral and written evidence in the case.
There is no danger of absconding, but the question of the danger of committing a crime is not the same, according to the judge.
The arguments for political persecution against Kotsev are not based on the evidence in the case, she added.