On October 19, President Iliana Iotova referred the matter of Ognyan Atanasov’s pardon to the prosecution service and sent them the entire case file, the head of State’s press service said on Wednesday. A review conducted by the presidential institution established that the documents required for the case file were available and that the Pardon Commission had followed its operating procedures.
Ognyan Atanasov, sentenced in Greece to 15 years in prison for drug-related offences, had served five years when Iliana Iotova, then vice president, pardoned him on December 5, 2022, leaving 10 years of his sentence unserved. According to the President’s Administration, the pardon followed a review by a seven-member commission and was based on a medical assessment of his deteriorating health. His sentence had already been suspended for two years on health grounds. Following his pardon, Atanasov was charged again in connection with drug trafficking. According to the prosecution, the group involved in the new case had been operating since early 2023. In February 2025, he was detained as part of an investigation in which nearly five kilograms of cocaine were seized.
Iotova has requested a thorough investigation into publicly reported allegations of procedural violations in Atanasov’s pardon, including potential corruption, as well as into the circumstances surrounding the storage and distribution of footage from the security cameras at Sofia Prison.
The head of State’s press service reported that between September 11 and October 21, the Office of the President provided responses to 14 requests under the Access to Public Information Act. The range of questions was broad, and the responses were prepared in accordance with the provisions of the law and sent within the statutory deadline, providing all available information permitted by national and European legislation. “In this regard, the allegations that the Presidential Administration is withholding information are manipulative. It is unacceptable for the Presidential Administration’s compliance with the law to be turned into a political tool for making insinuations. The insinuations that, during the period from November 2017 to January 2018, the Pardon Commission met with an unlawful composition are also false. The rules in effect at that time were followed,” the press release reads.
The release further states that during the proceedings to review the petition for clemency, the Commission requested information about the convicted person from the General Directorate Execution of Penalties at the Ministry of Justice. An expert opinion was provided by the medical commission established under the Implementation of Penal Sanctions and Detention in Custody Act. The medical commission’s conclusion was prepared after the convicted person appeared in person before it and after a detailed review of the available medical documentation. “It was determined that the convicted person suffers from serious illnesses that pose an immediate threat to his health and life. His condition requires treatment at a specialized neurosurgical facility, where he can be under constant supervision. His health status is also assessed based on the documents in the case file, including prosecutor’s orders to suspend the execution of the sentence (7 in number); medical expert reports (13 in number); expert decisions by the Medical Expert Commission (3); documents regarding the results of various medical tests; and outpatient records of medical examinations,” the press service added.
President Refers Drug Trafficker’s Pardon Case to Prosecution Service 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-21 16:18:28
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