© Velko Angelov
– Today, deputies applauded the young people beaten by police on July 10 last year behind the columns of the Council of Ministers. They attended the meeting at which the case was discussed.
With full unanimity – 167 votes “for” and none against and abstained, the deputies decided to Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev to prepare and submit to the National Assembly a report on the actions of the prosecution in connection with police violence against protesters last summer. The deadline for presenting the report is Friday, August 20.
The draft decision was submitted yesterday by representatives of the protest parties, and in the plenary hall was presented by the co-chair of Democratic Bulgaria Hristo Ivanov.
He recalled that the Bulgarian state has lost more than 50 cases in the European Court of Human Rights for police violence, which has become a systemic problem. He announced that this was the reason why Bulgaria was placed under another surveillance for the rule of law, which is “another shame”.
A day earlier, Geshev made it clear through BTA that he did not intend to be heard by a parliamentary committee, nor to present a report and answer questions, under the pretext that this would violate the separation of powers and undermine the independence of the prosecution. .
Recalling Geshev’s refusal, Hristo Ivanov said from the parliamentary rostrum that there is one way for Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev not to go to the National Assembly for a hearing – to resign.
There is complete unanimity to call Geshev
an unprecedented act of parliament
and it will make it difficult for Geshev to continue to maintain the already stated reasons that the constitution did not allow him to inform the National Assembly what actions the prosecution had taken regarding the cases of brutal use of force under the columns of the Council of Ministers without the specific circumstances.
According to lawyers asked by Dnevnik on Monday, Geshev must respond to parliamentary invitation. If he fails to appear, the Prosecutor General does not fulfill his constitutional obligation to be heard, the lawyers explained. The will in this case is in the competence of the National Assembly, not of the Prosecutor General. Because this is a form of cooperation between the authorities, not the exercise of parliamentary control, as Geshev believes.
Whether Geshev will reconsider his intention not to appear before the deputies after the unanimous vote of the parliament will be clear in the coming days. On Tuesday, the chief prosecutor’s spokesman did not answer Dnevnik’s calls.
–
