"We Continue the Change" (PP) has filed a new request in parliament for a hearing on the pardons of Ognyan Atanasov and Dinko Gospodinov, the party's press office said. Both men are linked to drug trafficking. President Iliana Yotova pardoned them.
Parliament has lacked a quorum on the issue three times so far. The first extraordinary session on the Atanasov pardon failed on 13 October. A second, called for Wednesday, 21 October at the request of Asen Vasilev and a group of MPs, did not take place either. On 28 October, the hearing in the plenary hall also fell through.
How it all began: Extraordinary session on Wednesday on the pardon of the "Petrich Escobar"
The new list includes interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, Chief Commissioner Ivaylo Yordanov, head of the Chief Directorate for the Execution of Punishments (GDIN), and the head of Burgas prison.
It also names the head of Sofia prison, Senior Commissioner Svetoslav Penov, and Vasil Kordev, who ran the prison in November and December 2022. The list adds the heads of the GDIN's "Medical Services in Places of Detention" unit and of the Specialised Hospital for Active Treatment at Sofia prison.
PP also wants to hear from the doctor who wrote or signed the medical report on Atanasov that was used for the pardon. It also invites the head of the State Agency for National Security (DANS), the chair of the president's Pardons Commission, the chief secretary of the Interior Ministry and the director of the Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime.
PP wants to know how the medical reports and the information on the conduct of Atanasov and Gospodinov were prepared, checked and handed over. It asks how the beating in the prison clinic on 16 November 2022, in which Atanasov took part, was recorded, and what is known about pressure on doctors and their relatives. It also asks about the exchange of information between the institutions and the president's office, and any links between Atanasov and DANS and the Interior Ministry.
PP says the planned hearing did not take place and parliament must clarify these questions. That would let MPs decide what steps are needed to keep effective control over the administration and to protect citizens.
After the failure on 13 October, the opposition accused the ruling parties of hiding and putting an "umbrella" over President Yotova. "Progressive Bulgaria" said at the time that it was familiar with the medical report and that Atanasov has illnesses that are incompatible with life.