Bulgarian former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov stated on Friday, after testifying to prosecutors, that he had committed no crime in the 2022 arrest of political rival Boyko Borissov. Petkov is accused of overstepping his authority during the arrest.
Borissov, also a former prime minister and current leader of the centre-right GERB party, was detained for 20 hours in March 2022 along with two party members as part of a police investigation into alleged blackmail. They were released without charge.
Prosecutors allege that Petkov “exceeded his authority” by ordering the arrests without proper court approvals. Charges published last month claim that Petkov undermined “the prestige of the executive power,” a crime under Article 1 of the criminal code. Petkov, now co-chairman of the “We Continue the Change” party, denied any wrongdoing and described the charges as politically motivated.
“I have committed no crime,” Petkov told reporters outside the court, where a crowd of supporters had gathered. “I only hope that because of this case there will be full clarity of how the Bulgarian judicial system works.”
Bulgaria, the poorest member of the European Union and one of its most corrupt states according to experts, has been trying to join the EU’s single currency for years but has faced rejection, most recently due to high inflation. The country has been in a political crisis since anti-corruption protests in 2020 led to the toppling of a coalition government led by Borissov.
In October, Bulgaria held its seventh snap election in four years as fractured political parties struggled to form a stable coalition. Borissov’s GERB won the most votes but failed to secure a majority, while a coalition including Petkov’s “We Continue the Change” came second. With no clear outcome, another election is expected in the coming months.