Open Letter Regarding the Attack Against Prosecutor Ivo Iliev

Eight civic society organisations, including the Anti-Corruption Fund Foundation (ACF), have addressed a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council concerning the brutal attack against Ivo Iliev, a prosecutor at the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office.

The text of the letter is available below:

To Boyan Magdalinchev

Representing

Supreme Judicial Council

OPEN LETTER

On 20 October 2025, a brutal attack was carried out against a magistrate, the prosecutor from the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, Ivo Iliev. Until June, Iliev was also a deputy to the director of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office and the head of its criminal department. According to the authorities, the attack represented an attempt on Iliev’s life. The publicly known information about the attack suggests possible involvement by organised criminal groups.

The brutal physical attack against a prosecutor, which displays all external features of a mafia-organised hit, concerns not only the victim and his family. It also has a highly negative impact on the criminal justice system.

What is more, it represents an escalation of the attacks against the judicial branch. This is unacceptable in the EU, where the separation of powers and the independence of the judicial system are key principles.

Considering the above, the behaviour of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Prosecutor’s Office is inexplicable and concerning, as the two bodies appear to have completely ignored not only the violent criminal attack against a prosecutor, but also how this act affects the victim’s colleagues.

The Prosecutor’s Office, which just days ago was quick to criticise the opinion of the Criminal College of the Supreme Court of Cassation concerning the lack of mandate of the acting Prosecutor General, does not seem to consider it necessary to address prosecutors or society, even to express empathy with the victim.

In its two colleges, the Supreme Judicial Council is occupied with mundane matters such as awarding some of its members and selecting its administrative leaders.

While we are fully aware that, through their actions, those at the helm of the judicial system have lost their professional reflexes and the public’s trust, their failure to speak against a crime of this magnitude against a magistrate violates any standards of acceptable institutional behaviour. Considering how absurd this silence is, we cannot rule out placing the present reckless attack within the context of escalating criminal schemes in the criminal justice system over the past two years, when there was a regrouping at the top of the Prosecutor’s Office.

We recall the following non-exhaustive list of issues:

• There is still no information about the results of the investigation into the explosion that occurred near the vehicle of the former Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev.
• There continues to be a lack of information concerning the investigation into the criminal groups for exerting pressure within the justice system, organised by Petyo Petrov “The Euro”, who is currently wanted by the authorities, and Martin Bojanov “The Notary”, who was murdered. Prosecutor Ivo Iliev has stated publicly that the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office had been preparing to indict Bojanov prior to the murder.
• The public declarations about determining the magistrates who were linked with the above-mentioned criminal networks made by various institutions are yet to yield any results.
• The explanation by the former acting Prosecutor General, Borislav Sarafov, about the recently resurfaced pictures of him and Petyo Petrov (that Ivan Geshev organised a one-off meeting between the pair in order to trap Sarafov and have him photographed) contradicts statements by Daniela Taleva, the Special Prosecutor tasked with investigating the Prosecutor General and their deputies. In an interview, Taleva said that magistrates had seen Sarafov visiting Petrov’s restaurant on several occasions.
• The acting administrative head of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, Emilia Rusinova, has failed to comment on her own pictures in front of the said restaurant. She was not asked about these photographs even as she was nominated as acting appellate prosecutor and acting head of the Sofia prosecution service.
• At the same time, there is no information about the results of the investigation by the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office into possible corruption involving the Bulgarian European Prosecutor, Teodora Georgieva. The investigation was announced after a leaked recording of a suspected meeting between her and Petyo Petrov, where her appointment as European Prosecutor appeared to be under discussion.
• There has been no institutional reaction concerning statements by prosecutor Ivaylo Zanev, who claimed Sarafov had exerted undue pressure with the act of reassigning the investigation into suspected financial abuse in the expansion of the Hemus Highway. Subsequently, a report was sent to Special Prosecutor Taleva.

The escalating criminal schemes pose a significant challenge to the criminal justice system. They are impossible to ignore if the leaders of the judicial branch want to preserve at least a minimal level of institutional propriety.

We call on the Supreme Judicial Council to hold an ad-hoc meeting, expressing institutional support for prosecutor Iliev and discussing the status quo within the criminal justice system in the light of the above-described cases.

We wish prosecutor Ivo Iliev a speedy recovery. We hope that the attack against him will be duly investigated and the perpetrators sanctioned.

Anti-Corruption Fund Foundation

Bulgarian Lawyers for Human Rights

Bulgarian Institute for Legal Initiatives

Bulgarian Helsinki Committee

Institute for Market Economics

Justice for All Initiative

Access to Information Programme

Bulgarian Judges Association