The District Prosecutor's Office - Plovdiv has charged and detained a 29-year-old man for kidnapping a 27-year-old woman and her one-year-old child, committed under conditions of domestic violence.
According to the state prosecution, the act was committed on April 1, 2026, when the woman and her child were placed in a Crisis Center. The man, with whom she previously lived as a family, contacted her under the pretext of bringing her food.
After taking her out of the center, he forcibly put her and the child in a car and took them to his apartment in the “Izgrev“ neighborhood in Plovdiv. According to the prosecutor's office, he abused the woman, illegally deprived her of her liberty, and threatened her with murder.
A report was filed on the case, and the woman was subsequently returned to the crisis center by police officers.
In the meantime, the accused left the country and was declared a national wanted man. He was detained on May 21 upon entering Bulgaria through the Kalotina border checkpoint.
The prosecutor's office specifies that the man has already been convicted of violence against the same woman by a court in Liege.
He was detained for 72 hours, and on May 25, the prosecutor's office will request permanent arrest.
The Appellate Prosecutor's Office - Plovdiv reports an increase in cases of domestic violence in the region. In 2025, the observed cases were 1,609, compared to 1,084 a year earlier.