Bulgaria: Hearing on 'Petrich Escobar' pardon fails again; presidency sees no violations

An extraordinary sitting of Bulgaria's parliament on the disputed pardon of Ognyan Atanasov, known as the "Petrich Escobar," failed to take place on Wednesday for lack of a quorum. Only 107 lawmakers registered at the first call and 109 after a 30-minute break, short of the 121 required. "There is no quorum, so the sitting cannot be held," Speaker Mihaela Dotsova said. A previous attempt on Oct. 13 also failed for lack of a quorum. The opposition collected signatures for further extraordinary sittings, and We Continue the Change wants the issue back on the agenda next week.

The opposition and the ruling camp traded blame. Bozhidar Bozhanov of Democratic Bulgaria accused the majority of a "scandalous cover-up", saying the Interior Ministry and the State Agency for National Security (DANS) should have been heard. Assen Vassilev of We Continue the Change noted the ruling party holds 131 seats against his group's 16. Petar Vitanov of the ruling Progressive Bulgaria said it was up to the opposition to secure a quorum and called the issue a campaign. MRF leader Delyan Peevski said President Iliana Iotova should come to parliament and explain herself.

In the afternoon, the presidency said Iotova had referred the case to prosecutors on Oct. 19 and handed over the full file. An internal review found all required documents were in place and the pardon commission had followed its rules, it said. A medical commission had found the convict suffered from serious, life-threatening illnesses. Prosecutors were also asked to examine possible corruption and the handling of CCTV footage from Sofia Prison. The presidency rejected claims it was withholding information as "manipulative."