Petko Petkov

The Sofia City Court on Monday is expected to launch the trial against former Sofia Appellate Court chair Veselin Pengezov and other ex-officials over their alleged involvement in a EU funds fraud.

Bulgaria's Justice Ministry plans to lay off around 700 officials of the Chief Directorate for the Execution of Sentences and judicial security staff and implement a restructuring of the Registry Agency, according to Deputy Justice Minister Petko Petkov.

The prosecuting authority has pressed charges against 8 people for irregularities in a project implemented under the operational program Administrative Capacity.

The District Court of Veliko Tarnovo has launched the trial against Petko Petkov, the man who shot dead a police commando last year during an operation carried out to detain him.

Petkov is charged with the murder of Emil Sharkov and the attempted murder of five other members of the specialized anti-terror squad that were deployed alongside the victim.

Bulgaria's Deputy Justice Minister Petko Petkov has suggested that the country needs to have an efficient prosecuting authority before it can have efficient courts.

In a Tuesday interview for the morning broadcast of bTV, he noted that there were suspicions that the prosecuting authority was keeping a political or economic umbrella over certain people.

Bulgarian police forces have detained a man who opened random fire in the Southern Bulgarian village of Buzovgrad and than barricaded himself in his home.

No-one has been left injured after his outburst, but a few cars in the neighborhood had their windows smashed.

Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council has voted to temporarily remove from office the head of the Sofia Appellate Court, Veselin Pengezov.

The SJC ruled the same for Petko Petkov, head of the Military Appellate Court. Of the 20 members, 16 voted in favor of removing them from office, a move initiated by the Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov.

Interior Ministry's Chief Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov offered to resign after a failed operation in Bulgaria's town of Lyaskovets, Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev revealed.

Two police officers who went snooping around and taking photos of the house of the Lyaskovest shooter Petko Petkov, spoiled the police operation for his disarming. 

It was the debilitation of Bulgarian Interior Ministry that led to Friday's tragedy in the town of Lyaskovets .

These comments were made for Bulgarian National Television by the expert Tihomir Bezlov from the Center for the Study of Democracy.