Formal Letter of Complaint against Ivan Geshev before the Sofia District Prosecutor´s Office

On April 21st, 2023, my lawyer Konstantin Simeonov submitted a formal letter of complaint on my behalf against Ivan Geshev, currently sitting as General Prosecutor of the Republic of Bulgaria, to the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office. The complaint refers to a series of speculations about me made by Ivan Geshev at the official press conference of the Prosecutor´s Office on 16 March 2023, which was extensively covered by the media, and in a succession of interviews and media appearances in March and in April this year.

I believe that there is enough evidence to conduct a checkup and initiate pre-trial proceedings regarding a possible crime/crimes in office that Ivan Geshev has committed.

First, the purpose of Article 198, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Code of Criminal Procedure, which envisages the possibility of disclosing materials from an investigation to the public with the permission of the prosecutor, is to inform the public about the course of an investigation. This provision does not permit the disclosure and dissemination of evidence, especially in a one-sided and biased manner. This provision neither allows public analysis and interpretation of such evidence, nor calls that the media interpret the evidence. The discussion of evidence by the Prosecutor’s Office can only take place before the court and in a fair trial.

In addition, the implication of guilt, especially through a spectacular media campaign and a series of interviews, violates the presumption of innocence enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights of the European Union, the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Bulgaria, Directive 2016/343 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence , etc.

Finally, it seems that the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office is trying once again to criminalize facts and circumstances that cannot constitute a crime. The prosecution abuse their powers and violate the law to take revenge on me for exercising and defending my civil rights.