Bulgarians protest early release of driver who killed journalist Milen Tsvetkov
Protests are planned in Sofia and Varna on Tuesday evening against the early release of the driver who caused the 2020 death of the TV journalist. Prosecutors are challenging the ruling.
Archive image · Photo: Bin im Garten / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
A protest is scheduled outside the Palace of Justice in Sofia at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. According to Actualno, it was organized by the father of a girl who was also killed in a road crash. A rally and march from the regional court to city hall is also planned in Varna at the same time, backed by the group "Angels of the Road."
Sofia City Court on Oct. 22 granted conditional early release to the driver, who received a final nine-year prison sentence in 2023. On Easter Sunday 2020 he slammed at high speed and under the influence of drugs into the journalist's car as it waited at a red light on Cherni Vrah Boulevard. According to the Supreme Court of Cassation, he was driving at about 99 kph in a 50 kph zone.
Sofia City Prosecutor's Office says there is insufficient evidence the convict has reformed and has challenged the ruling before the Sofia Court of Appeal. He will remain in prison until that court decides, prosecutors said. The lower court had cited his work, courses and rehabilitation programs in prison.