A full month has passed since the outbreak of the scandal surrounding the joint trips of constitutional judge and former GERB member Desislava Atanasova with DPS leader Delyan Peevski, who has been sanctioned by the US and UK for corruption, but she has yet to file a claim for insult and defamation against Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev.
This is shown by a check by "Sega" at the Sofia District Court and the Sofia City Court. The district court handles civil claims up to 25,000 leva, as well as criminal cases for insult and defamation initiated by the victim, while cases for damages above that amount fall under the jurisdiction of the city court.
At the moment, it appears that Atanasova has chosen to wait for the tension surrounding the case to pass, which is already subsiding, and with the approaching vacation month of August, the scandal will likely die down completely. A position from the Constitutional Court never followed. A few days ago, the institution's chairwoman, Pavlina Panova, gave an interview to "Nova TV" in which she refused to comment on the specific case, noting that the court had already expressed its opinion through Atanasova's published statement.
Following Demerdzhiev's revelations about the private jet trip to Dubai by the judge and the political leader, articles appeared in media close to Peevski stating that Atanasova was preparing to file a lawsuit against the minister. She herself wrote on "Facebook" that she would "present all documents regarding my travel and stay in the Republic of Turkey for the period April 5-8, 2024, to a competent court, to establish the liability of the respective persons involved in this event".
Atanasova categorically denies traveling with Peevski, as well as using a private jet to Dubai, and twice presented documents which she claims prove her position. For this purpose, she used not only her personal "Facebook" profile but also the official website of the Constitutional Court, through which she explained to the public that when traveling abroad on working days when the court is not in session, she does not submit a request for leave.
Immediately after Atanasova's second statement, "Sega" sent clarifying questions to the court, but three weeks later no answer has been received. Among the unanswered questions remain why she returned her ordinary passport before its expiration, whether she traveled with a diplomatic passport as an MP, and whether there are cases in which she used both documents simultaneously on the same trip.
Also remaining without an answer is the question of whether Atanasova has communicated with Delyan Peevski since her election by parliament as a constitutional judge – and if so, when and on what occasion. She also remains silent on the topic of whether she will file a lawsuit against Demerdzhiev, and the statute of limitations for a civil claim in this case is five years.