Bulgaria Sentences Ex-Interior Minister

Former interior minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov was sentenced to four years in prison for obstructing justice on May 29 in the latest political scandal to rock the country.

Tsvetanov served in the government of Boiko Borisov from 2009 to 2013, and is one of the top figures in GERB, the centre-right party that scored an impressive election victory at the European parliament elections just days ago.

He was convicted for blocking the use of wiretaps against a former police commander, while also being under investigation for the alleged widespread use of illegal surveillance during his term.

The sentence surprised many, since media reports said the prosecution had asked for a three-year suspended sentence, which would still have prevented him from holding public office during that term.

Tsvetanov described the conviction as politically motivated will likely appeal the sentence. Several dozen demonstrators in front of Parliament on Thursday, mainly GERB supporters, echoed that claim.

Earlier this week Tsvetanov was acquitted on charges of embezzling some 50,000 leva (25,500 euro) for the benefit of the same police officer whose surveillance he had failed to authorize.

On Friday, a separate trial starts against him in which he is accused of failing to oversee the proper use of wiretaps during his term.

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