Judges Association urges Supreme Judicial Council to suspend Prosecutor General

The Bulgarian Judges Association has urged the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to suspend with immediate effect Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev, National Investigation Service (NIS) Director Borislav Sarafov, who is also Deputy Prosecutor General, and NIS Deputy Director Yasen Todorov. The judges' organization argued that this would ensure an unbiased and thorough inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the instituted proceedings for early dismissal.

The Association also called on all SJC members to resign because they are responsible for the appointment of the three magistrates.

The SJC inspectorate must probe both the facts and circumstances revealed by Geshev, Sarafov and Todorov and their overall performance as administrative leaders of the prosecution and investigation services.

The judges' organization also said the Constitution should be amended as regards the structure of the prosecution service, the functions and powers of the prosecutor general, the composition and establishment of the SJC, and the powers of the SJC's Judges and Prosecutors Chambers.

The Bulgarian Judges Association also wants effective procedures to be introduced to control the performance and investigate the prosecutor general and his deputies in case of a perpetrated crime.

Geshev and Sarafov have traded recriminations in the last few days. The Prosecutor General Tuesday proposed to the SJC to impose a disciplinary punishment on Sarafov, while the latter filed to the Sofia City Prosecution Office a report with allegations of a possible crime committed by Geshev.