Democratic Bulgaria Deputy Floor Leader Bozhidar Bozhanov said at a briefing at the National Assembly on Wednesday that the ruling majority had once again disgracefully covered up President Iliana Iotova’s affair involving the pardoning of drug traffickers, after a quorum failed to materialize on two attempts to hold an extraordinary parliamentary sitting.
The sitting was to address the case of Ognyan Atanasov, known as the “Petrich Escobar”, who was pardoned by Iotova during her tenure as vice president. It was convened at the request of Continue the Change MP Assen Vassilev and a group of MPs.
“Following the case of the ‘Petrich Escobar’, it turned out that there was another case involving a man who had been convicted of drug offences three times and had sold drugs after being released supposedly for treatment. There is information that he is someone who cuts off people’s ears,” Bozhanov said. “These are career criminals and repeat offenders whom Iotova, in her role as a dangerous repeat offender, pardons repeatedly,” he added.
“Today, we were supposed to hear from the Interior Ministry and the State Agency for National Security (SANS), who were to tell us or deny whether these people had been covert collaborators with the security services or the Interior Ministry, and whether they had been involved in smuggling channels. Iotova, Radev and the majority owe us answers. They have no right to hide and attempt to conceal the truth from Bulgarian citizens,” Bozhanov said.
“Iotova is unfit to hold the office of president given her judgement, and I believe the ruling majority’s attempt to cover this up should make an impression on Bulgarian citizens and help them see who is actually concealing the truth,” the DB Deputy Floor Leader said.
According to him, the prison altercation involving the “Petrich Escobar” was not reported to the President’s administration. Bozhanov noted that the deputy justice minister responsible for prisons at the time was Maria Pavlova, who was close to president Radev (January 2017 – January 2026) and vice president Iotova. “This is most likely a well-organized scheme, which is why the security services are being kept out of the picture today as well,” he added.
Bozhanov noted that his party was currently collecting signatures for an extraordinary sitting on the acts of sabotage related to Starlink. “We will insist that this issue be examined as quickly as possible. We hope this will happen before the elections, but the ruling majority are apparently afraid that nobody should touch or upset their candidate,” he said. “I do not think it is an election stunt to make sure Bulgarian children are not poisoned by drug traffickers released by the president and the people around her,” the MP commented.
According to him, the Pardons Commission, which is supposed to conduct a thorough assessment, consists of people who are unsuitable for the job. “There is only one doctor on it, who has never practised medicine; there are political appointments and ‘kalinki’ [incompetent appointees], and these people pardon drug traffickers who supposedly have cancer, while we receive information about others who have not been pardoned despite having cancer,” Bozhanov added.
Commenting on Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s statement that the opposition wanted to bring Movement for Rights and Freedoms Floor Leader Delyan Peevski and GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko Borissov back to power, Bozhanov said: “As soon as the first protests began, those in power became so worried that they started repeating the mantras of every ruling party before them, claiming that someone else wanted to return to power.”
Ruling Majority Once Again Disgracefully Covers Up President’s Pardoning of Drug Traffickers, Democratic Bulgaria Says 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-21 09:05:02
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