The Sofia Appellate Court affirmed a prior ruling on Friday, denying an application for the early release of Evelin “Brendo” Banev, who is currently incarcerated in Sofia for drug trafficking offenses. The initial court panel determined that Banev had not completed more than half of his total sentence, which constitutes a fundamental prerequisite for consideration of early release. Consequently, the court found no basis to evaluate the secondary criterion pertaining to good behavior.
Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska stated that Banev had failed to submit conclusive evidence demonstrating that the time served had achieved a corrective purpose. Banev was initially apprehended in 2012 during a joint Bulgarian-Italian law enforcement operation and subsequently received a 20-year prison term in Italy for participation in an international cocaine-trafficking network. In July 2018, the Sofia City Prosecution Office issued a European Arrest Warrant to locate him for the completion of a six-year sentence, as his whereabouts were unknown.
Banev, who had been subject to Interpol Red Notices since 2018, surrendered to Bulgarian authorities on June 24, 2024, and was transferred to Sofia’s Central Prison. Following his arrival, Banev requested that the Bulgarian court allow him to serve his sentences imposed in Italy and Romania within Bulgaria. The Change–Democratic Bulgaria party sought a parliamentary hearing regarding Banev’s appearance, during which caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov stated that the Ministry had records indicating Banev entered Bulgaria by air between late March 2022 and early June 2022.
In April 2025, the SCC ruled that Banev would serve a total prison sentence of ten years and six months in Bulgaria for crimes committed in Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy, deducting time already served in detention in Italy and Sofia.
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