The trial of the six Bulgarians accused of espionage for the Russia, BNR reported. The trial was originally scheduled for October 27, but was postponed for no reason.
Today at the Old Bailey – At the Central Criminal Court in London, Orlin Rusev, Biser Jambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Ivan Stoyanov and Vanya Gaberova, who were detained in 2023 on charges of conspiracy to "gather information intended to directly or indirectly benefit the enemy, will stand trial , in order to harm the security and interests of the state".
They will be joined by Tihomir Ivanchev, who was detained in February this year as the sixth member of the “spy cell”. Rusev, Djambazov and Ivanova are also accused of possessing false identity documents, which were found in their homes. All the Bulgarians pleaded not guilty, denying the accusations of espionage brought against them, at subsequent court hearings. Estimates are that the trial could last about four weeks, due to the large amount of evidence gathered by the investigators.
They were permanently remanded in custody in 2023 as they were judged to be a danger to the UK and also likely to leave the country or abscond.
At the meeting on September 26, 2023, Orlin Rusev, Katrin Ivanova, Biser Djambazov, Vanya Gaberova and Ivan Stoyanov were included via video link from different prisons to hear the accusation against them of espionage. The defender of the alleged main driver of the group, Orlin Rusev, requested that the case be classified. The defendants are said to have worked in an operational espionage cell for Russian security services and that work involved monitoring targets.