Supreme Judicial Council opens second procedure for early dismissal of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev

The Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on June 5 voted to initiate a second procedure for the early dismissal of the Prosecutor General, Ivan Geshev, on a motion submitted by four members of SJC’s Prosecutors’ College. 19 members of the Council voted in favour on the admissibility of the motion, none voted against. A sitting is to be scheduled.

Second motion to dismiss Ivan Geshev from the post of Bulgaria’s Prosecutor General tabled in Supreme Judicial Council

The Prosecutor General was present at the meeting of the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council and again attacked GERB and its leader Boyko Borissov.

The second request for Geshev's early dismissal was proposed by four members of the Prosecutors' College on the grounds of "actions that harm the prestige of the judiciary".

"In his public statement, commenting on the country we live in, the opprobrium and hybrid attacks against the Prosecutor’s Office, the Prosecutor General said that it was clear what the political rubbish is and that it was time to be swept away. We believe that Geshev's actual actions are contrary to the norms of the Code of the Bulgarian Magistrates and can be qualified as actions harming the prestige of the judiciary," said Kalina Chapkanova of the SJC.

"Most probably the political influence of the GERB party is behind this. What is happening is an attempt to take over the judiciary and a totalitarian coup. They want to subordinate judges, prosecutors and investigators to external interests. Why are these people in a hurry, why don't you wait to see what will happen with this fight against the mafia that the Prosecutor's Office is conducting?" Ivan Geshev said.

***

At a meeting last week, the Supreme Judicial Council voted 14-4 to open the first procedure for the early dismissal of Prosecutor General, Ivan Geshev. It was based on a motion signed by 6 members of the SJC: Georgi Kuzmanov, Yordan Stoev, Kalina Chapkanova, Svetla Boshnakova, Ognyan Damyanov and Gergana Mutafova.

Before Supreme Judicial Council, Prosecutor General denied having made recordings of colleagues, magistrates and politicians