The Sofia Appellate Court affirmed a decision by a first-instance court, denying Evelin “Brendo” Banev’s request for early release while he serves a sentence in Sofia for drug trafficking. The initial court panel determined that Banev had not completed more than half of his total sentence, which is a mandatory legal criterion for consideration for early release. Consequently, the court found no basis to assess the secondary condition related to good behavior.
Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska stated that Banev failed to provide conclusive evidence that the time he had already served fulfilled a corrective purpose. Banev’s legal history is extensive. He was initially arrested in 2012 during a joint Bulgarian-Italian law enforcement operation and subsequently received a 20-year prison sentence in Italy for involvement in an international cocaine-trafficking ring.
Following the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant in 2018, Banev, who was subject to Interpol Red Notices, surrendered to Bulgarian authorities on June 24, 2024, and was taken to Sofia’s Central Prison. In subsequent legal proceedings, Banev sought to have the sentences imposed in Italy and Romania served within Bulgaria. In April 2025, a separate ruling by the SCC mandated that Banev serve a total of ten years and six months in Bulgaria for crimes committed across Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy, deducting time already detained in Italy and Sofia.
The court noted procedural difficulties, specifically that Italian authorities had not supplied the rationale for their sentence and that communication with them had been slow.
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The court upholding the denial of early release underscores the seriousness of the drug trafficking charges.
What specific criteria or evidence did the court use to deny Banev’s request for early release?