And at the second instance: 20 years in prison for Georgi Semerdzhiev for the “Cherni vrah” disaster

20 years in prison and at the second instance for Georgi Semerdzhiev for causing the death of the two young women in the brutal accident on the capital’s Cherni Vrah Boulevard in 2022.

The decision of the Sofia Court of Appeal was issued this afternoon. It fully confirms the decision of the first instance court, confirmed one of the lawyers in the case – Plamen Dimitrov, to NOVA.

Before that, Semerdzhiev appealed the sentence before the second instance. At this moment, the information has not been officially confirmed by the court.

The court has confirmed that the mother of one of the dead girls – Harriet Stefanovic, should also receive BGN 800,000 in compensationadds BNT.

Advocates for the victims’ families told bTV that the decision is 74 pages long.

It can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Cassation. Whether this will happen and what are the reasons for it – most likely it will become clear tomorrow.

The Sofia City Court found Georgi Semerdzhiev guilty of five charges, the main one being the negligent death of the two victims. The case is defined as particularly serious and the maximum penalty is exactly 20 years in prison.

The 37-year-old former football player hit a taxi head-on on Cherni Vrah Blvd., around 10:20 p.m. on July 5, 2022, after which his Audi car split in half and killed pedestrians Hristina Dileva and Hariet Stefanovic on the spot. The investigation established that Semerdzhiev ran a red light at a speed of 166 km/h in a speed limit of 50 km/h, was under the influence of amphetamine and methamphetamine, had his license revoked, and was driving with a false license and altered license plates. the car.

After the accident, he immediately fled the scene and hid without even thinking of helping the victims. From the reasons of the city court during the first-instance examination of the case, it became clear that Semerdzhiev would have received a more severe punishment if he had been accused of acting presumptuously and not negligently.

At the second instance before the appeals court, Semerdzhiev’s defense insisted that he was riding in the car during the tragic accident, but a girl was driving, who was supposed to appear and testify, but that never happened, and the court struck her as a witness. Only Velina Arshikova testified, who said that she was traveling in the back seat, Semerdzhiev was next to the driver’s seat, and the car was driven by the mysterious Elena Yordanova.

According to the prosecution and the defense of the relatives of one of the murdered girls, this is an absurd thesis, because the experts concluded that there was no way a person could have survived the impact if he had been in the back seat of the car.

The prosecution insisted that the SAC confirm the sentence, and the state prosecution was adamant that Semerdzhiev’s version had been verified and rejected. It was proven that the defendant also used drugs on the day of the incident, and according to the prosecutor’s office, the effect of the methamphetamine found in his body was like the loss of all inhibitions.

Dozens of policemen were also investigated because of the accident with Semerdzhiev and the suspicions of an “umbrella” over him, after the investigators established that since he did not have keys to his home, he called the now ex-policewoman Simona Radeva, suspected of providing him with protection. According to the deed, she provided him with a ladder to enter her home. Because of the case, more than 10 heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were punished. Among them are three directors of regional offices in Sofia – of the 5th, 6th and 7th RU.