A verdict in the case over a 2019 crash near Momchilgrad that killed a 6-month-old baby is expected after 9:30pm, judge Yordanka Yankova said. Lyutvi Mestan and the baby's father are on trial. Closing arguments lasted nearly nine hours.
Prosecutors want a three-year prison term for each man, suspended with five years' probation. They describe this as a mid-range sentence. They also want both men banned from driving for five years. Both are charged with causing death by negligence.
The crash happened on 14 April 2019 at the junction for the village of Zagorsko, in Momchilgrad municipality. The junction is on the main I-5 road, which leads to Greece through Makaza. Mestan, then an active politician, was pulling out in a Volkswagen onto the main road towards Kardzhali. The father was driving a BMW on the main road towards Greece, with his whole family in the car. The baby died when the two cars collided. The baby's older brother and the mother were hurt.
Prosecutors say Mestan broke three provisions of the Road Traffic Act, which cover the rules for joining a road with right of way and for turning left. They say the father broke traffic restrictions. They also say the baby seat was not fixed to the seat and the child was not wearing a safety belt.
In his final statement, the father said he is innocent and asked for justice. Mestan set out his arguments and asked the court, in the name of justice, to find him not guilty over the crash.
At first only Mestan was charged, but prosecutors soon charged the father too. The first indictment was filed in July 2020, nearly a year after the crash. The court sent it back to prosecutors and closed the case over major procedural violations. Prosecutors appealed, but the Court of Appeal in Plovdiv upheld the ruling.
In February 2021 the case reached court again with a new indictment. In 2023 it was closed once more because the judge retired. It was later reopened with a new judge.