We do not expect anything from this panel and we believe that the panel is biased, the lawyers of Georgi Georgiev, defendant in the "Debora" case, told the media before the start of today's hearing.
Georgiev is accused of inflicting multi-level moderate bodily harm with particular cruelty and in a particularly painful manner, of coercion and of threats to kill Deborah Mihaylova, BTA recalls.
“Georgi must receive an acquittal or conviction by an impartial court. We cannot expect impartiality from a court that has been sentenced to pay compensation to Georgi for slow justice“, said Adv. Valentin Dimitrov. According to him, the bias is already evident from the court's quick actions, because it cannot wait for Georgi to be convicted in order to protect the image of the court. He added that the trial was delayed due to the recusal of the previous panel due to a circumstance that was known from the very beginning, that a member of the panel had actively participated in the protests and was a member of a political party.
The other defense attorney, Petko Kanev, said that they no longer expect anything from this panel, because in their opinion the panel is biased and after the hearing begins, they will consider whether to request a recusal today as well. “Let's see how the case will develop, maybe at some point the court will decide and recusal“, Kanev said.
After all the judges in the Stara Zagora District Court recusal, the trial was transferred to Plovdiv. The case against Georgiev in the Plovdiv District Court began on February 28 2024. On January 23 of the following year, his defense filed a motion to disqualify a juror. On the same day, the court panel recused itself from the case.
On February 28 of last year, the case against Georgi Georgiev began anew with a different panel.
According to the Stara Zagora District Court, the claim is partially justified in that the term of the case is unreasonable because after the panel was disqualified, the case was considered anew. 11 months and 26 days have passed since the case was filed before the Plovdiv District Court until the panel was removed. During this time, 11 court hearings were held, and the defendant was subjected to a preventive measure of "detention in custody."
Georgiev is currently free on bail of 10,000 leva.
The case of the attack on Deborah Mihaylova dates back to the summer of 2023 and caused a wave of sympathy throughout the country. At that time, people took to marches and protests against domestic violence and in support of the girl. The "Debora" case was transferred from Stara Zagora to Plovdiv, as all the judges there recused themselves. After a request from the defense, the panel of the Plovdiv District Court also withdrew and the trial began again in the Plovdiv District Court on April 11.