Judicial Council seeks information from USA about entry ban on Bulgarian judge

At an extraordinary meeting of the Judges’ College of Bulgaria’s Supreme Judicial Council on February 6, it was decided to request additional information from the US State Department regarding the barring of Specialized Criminal Court judge Andon Mitalov from entering the US.

On February 5, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the ban, alleging that Mitalov was involved in “significant corruption”.

Mitalov decined to comment. His name appeared in the media in November 2019, when he issued a court order allowing Nikolai Malinov, the head of Bulgaria’s Russophile Movement who was facing espionage charges, to travel to Moscow to receive a state honour from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At a short meeting today, the judges from the Supreme Judicial Council decided to submit a request to the State Department seeking detailed clarification about Mitalov’s alleged involvement in corruption.

Boyan Magdalinchev from the SJC said that the information is needed in order to determine what action, if any, should be taken by the Judges College.

The Chair of the Supreme Cassation Court Lozan Panov said information will also be sought from the Supreme Judicial Council Inspectorate, the Prosecutor’s Office and the anti-corruption commission.

The judges can decide whether to summon Mitalov for a hearing. He also can ask for a hearing.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said that the State Department announcement about Mitalov was “by no means against the interests of Bulgaria” and added that the US and Bulgaria had held their first strategic dialogue in early January.

“When they saw a person with charges against him, in Moscow and receiving an honour, they must have asked themselves questions, and maybe that’s where the whole thing comes from. I don’t want to know, I don’t want to comment – one thing, it is the business of the US, they have it in their law, the other thing is a ruling by a Bulgarian judge – he’s independent, that’s what he decided,” Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said.

Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev said he expects the State Department to provide sufficient information about the decision on the Mitalov case.

"This once again shows that we can fight for the rule of law and the effective fight against corruption only with an effective and independent court and prosecutor's office," the President said.