The mayor of Omurtag Eshref Eshrefov, accused of participating in an organized criminal group, remains under house arrest, BTA reported.
The District Court in Targovishte did not grant the request for a lighter measure. The court session was held behind closed doors due to the presence of classified information. The decision of the District Court – Targovishte is subject to appeal and/or protest within three days before the Appellate Court – Varna. On appeal, the case is scheduled for May 16, 2024.
The mayor is accused of being involved in an organized criminal group in Omurtag and on the territory of the municipality for official crimes in the period from the beginning of 2019 until now. He could be jailed for more than three years on that charge. The group was created for a profit and officials participate in it, the press service of the District Court recalls.
On March 7 this year the Commercial District Court took a measure of remand “house arrest“. The magistrates took into account the possibility that he could influence witnesses who are hierarchically dependent on him or the other defendant Hasan Hasanov (his father). On March 19 of this year the measure was upheld by the Court of Appeal – Varna.
The case was opened today at the request of the defense. The determination of the initial measure of remand “house arrest“ against E.E. by another panel of the District Court - Targovishte was motivated by the existence of a reasonable assumption of his complicity in the crime of which he was accused. Upon a new assessment of the evidence gathered so far, the court today also considers that this presumption has not yet been shaken or weakened, the announcement said.
The court also noted that the danger of him committing a new crime, the high public danger of the crime, as well as the mechanism of carrying out the specific criminal activity and the circumstances in which it was carried out are present.
During today's meeting, it became clear that the accused is also a candidate for a national representative. As a candidate, he is entitled to leave from his mayoral job. His house arrest won't stop him from doing that. The immunity requirement for parliamentary candidates does not apply if they are accused before the election campaign. “The present case is precisely such, insofar as it is indisputable that E.E. was brought as a defendant in pre-trial proceedings on 19.01.2024, while his registration as a candidate for national representative dates from May 6, 2024,”, they write from the court.
The magistrates are adamant that there is no obstacle for the accused to visit a doctor with the permission of the supervising prosecutor.
„The high public danger of the act, determined by the protected public interest and the specific mechanism of its execution show that the two-month period that has passed cannot be qualified as unreasonable when assessing the lawfulness of the detention of the accused under house arrest”, writes in the motive of the magistrates.
On leaving the hall, Eshrefov said that he would appeal the decision.