An Israeli national has been arrested in connection with the murder of 83-year-old Associate Professor Andrey Atanasov in Sofia. The 32-year-old man is a resident of Bat Yam and is suspected of being involved in the attack in an elevator at Joliot-Curie metro station.
The arrest was carried out following joint efforts by the Israeli police, Bulgarian authorities and the international department of the Israeli prosecution service. A temporary arrest warrant has been issued for the man with a view to his extradition, the Israeli police said.
“After suspicions arose that a 32-year-old resident of Bat Yam was involved in the murder, intensive investigative and operational work was undertaken to gather evidence and arrest the suspect,” the police statement said.The detainee is due to appear before a court in Israel, which must rule on the procedure for his extradition to Bulgaria. At present, there is no information about a scheduled hearing or charges brought by the Bulgarian prosecution service.
Atanasov died after severe beating
The report of the victim was filed on October 15 at around 1:00–1:30 p.m. The man was found unconscious and with multiple severe injuries in an elevator at the metro station. An Emergency Medical Service team transported him to St. Anna Hospital, where he later died.
Following his death, the Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of Interior opened pre-trial proceedings for murder. The investigation is being conducted under the supervision of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, and the collected materials include footage from cameras in the area.
Andrey Atanasov had been a long-serving lecturer at Sofia University’s Faculty of Biology. The Israeli police did not provide a motive for the attack. The detainee’s guilt is yet to be established in legal proceedings.
Sources: ynetnews.com, bta.bg, nova.bg