They left the defendants in custody for the death of the migrants near the village of Lokorsko – Court and Prosecutor’s Office

The Sofia City Court imposed a measure of remand “Detention in custody” of Khristian Dungarov, Atanas Atanasov, Petar Yanev, Tacho Tachev and Viktor Kuzmov. The five are accused in the case of the 18 dead migrants in a truck near the Sofia village of Lokorsko.

The court is motivated by the presence of sufficient evidence from which it can be concluded that they are perpetrators of the crimes of which they are accused, and that they may commit a crime. “The actions were well planned in advance and carefully executed,” the institution announced.

So far, many injured persons have been interviewed, who tell in detail that they hit the barriers because they started to suffocate, but the drivers did not help and ran away.

Before the court, the five defendants asked for lighter measures for remand.

Dungarov said he grew up without a father and only wanted to be with his mother.

Atanasov stated that he cooperated fully and helped “many things to be resolved”. Yanev said he did not feel guilty because he was 400 km away. Tachev regrets that it “happened this way,” and Kuzmov, who is accused of leading an organized criminal group, said he would serve his sentence if found guilty.

The court did not find sufficient grounds to accept that the five could abscond because they had cooperated with the investigation.

The prosecutor’s office wants the detention of five defendants for the dead migrants near Lokorsko

The decision is not final and is subject to appeal or protest before the CAS. In case of such, the court session is scheduled for February 28.