The Appellate Court of Burgas has handed down the most severe form of punishment, "life imprisonment," to Syrian national Omar Adnan. The ruling by the Appellate Court of Burgas followed an appeal by the District Prosecutor's Office, as well as complaints filed by the private accusers and the defense against the initial sentence of 20 years of imprisonment, which had been set by the city's District Court. The new sentence must be served under an initial "special" regime.
The grounds for the change in the sentence were detailed by the appellate judges, who rejected the argument that the event was a momentary coincidence of circumstances or an accidental error in judgment. The court emphasized that the collision on August 25, 2022, was the culmination of a series of conscious and dangerous actions that demonstrate the defendant's extreme persistence in his unlawful behavior: 1) a consistent refusal to stop after signals were given by law enforcement; 2) operating a multi-ton Mercedes bus at a high speed (approximately 78 km/h) along Todor Aleksandrov Boulevard; 3) actively preventing police teams from overtaking him; 4) transporting 47 people, including women and children, in a dangerous environment—on the floor and between seats, without seatbelts; 5) the absence of any braking after the impact and the subsequent flight from the scene of the accident.
The magistrates recalled the tragic sequence of events at the Trapezytsa roundabout. Although he could have pulled over into the far-right lane, Adnan chose to continue driving and rammed into a Skoda Rapid patrol car. The police vehicle had its flashing lights on, and the impact intentionally caused the deaths of Atanas Gradev and Yordan Iliev, officers from the First District Police Department in Burgas.
According to the court, the act constitutes an especially grave case, the public danger of which exceeds the usual scope of crimes of this type. In its decision, the panel emphasized the driver's lack of a license and the fact that his actions endangered not only the passengers on the bus but also numerous random road users. The institution pointed out that the 20-year sentence was "manifestly unjust" as it neither achieved the goals of the law regarding correction and rehabilitation, nor did it adequately reflect the gravity of the offense.
Through this act, the court establishes a line of general prevention, confirming that for this type of intentionally created risk to the lives of many people, society requires the most just penal response. Nevertheless, the decision rendered by the Appellate Court of Burgas is subject to appeal or protest before the Supreme Court of Cassation of the Republic of Bulgaria within 15 days of receiving notification that the decision has been prepared.