Sofia City Court will hear Kristian Nikolov's request for early release next week. He is serving 9 years in prison for the death of journalist Milen Tsvetkov.

Tsvetkov had stopped at a red light in Sofia on Easter 2020 when Nikolov's car hit his vehicle.

The court found that Nikolov may have acted with intent. He had driven after taking amphetamine, cocaine and cannabis, and was going at about 100 km/h, well over the limit.

The sentence became final about three years ago.