The trial follows a protest by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Svishtov because of acquittals for the three defendants
A case against three DPS activists in Svishtov for vote trading since 2014 has started in the District Court – Veliko Tarnovo.
Next week, the former head of the Chistota municipal enterprise in the Danube town Ildanay Akhmedov, the chairman of the Muslim board of trustees in Svishtov Gencho Konov and his son Emil Konov will stand on the dock next week.
The legal saga continues after the three were acquitted by the District Court in Svishtov, and the District Prosecutor’s Office filed an appeal against the decision of the first instance.
The case dragged on for years. In 2015, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Svishtov “repaired” the indictment against the three DPS activists found guilty of vote trading. The corrections were made after the District Court in the Danube city then closed the case against the members of the movement and returned the case to the state prosecution because of procedural violations.
The unraveling of the criminal vote-trading scheme began during the September 2014 election campaign.
In the Danube city, an action was held following a report that there were contracts for voting, promising 30 leva each for support with ballot number 18 of the DPS. Even then, it was rumored that advocates were promised sums of 80 to 150 BGN.
Policemen broke into the residence of the then chief Ildanay Akhmedov, who was 12th on the list of the DPS for the Veliko Tarnovo region. Searches were also made at the home of the chairman of the Muslim Board of Trustees in Svishtov, Gencho Konov, and his son.
After several months of investigation, the three activists of the movement were brought to court. However, the magistrates found that the prosecution did not indicate the way the crime was committed. “It is not clear the actions by which the three defendants organized the future transfer of the property benefit – procuring lists of persons entitled to vote, procuring cash, etc. The facts and circumstances determining complicity between the three defendants are not clear. There is also a contradiction in the time of the crime,” the court order said.
Shortly thereafter, the prosecution submitted the corrected indictment to the court, and with their decision of May 31, 2023, the Svishtov magistrates found the defendants innocent.
The appellate criminal case of a general nature against the three is scheduled for November 10 in the District Court – Veliko Tarnovo.
