The Sofia Appellate Court upheld a prior ruling on Friday, denying Evelin “Brendo” Banev’s request for early release from a prison sentence in Sofia related to drug trafficking. The first-instance court panel determined that Banev had not completed more than half of his sentence, which is a prerequisite for considering the second condition for early release. Consequently, the court found no basis to assess the requirement concerning good behavior.
Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska stated that Banev had failed to provide definitive evidence that the time served had achieved a corrective purpose. Banev was initially arrested in 2012 during a joint Bulgarian-Italian law enforcement operation. In 2013, he was sentenced to 20 years in Italy for participation in an international cocaine-trafficking ring.
In July 2018, the Sofia City Prosecution Office issued a European Arrest Warrant for Banev, who was sought to serve a six-year sentence after his known whereabouts became unknown. Banev, who was under Interpol Red Notices since 2018, surrendered to Bulgarian authorities on June 24, 2024, and was placed in Sofia’s Central Prison. Following his arrival, Banev requested that the Bulgarian court allow him to serve his sentences from Italy and Romania in Bulgaria.
During a parliamentary hearing on June 28, 2024, caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov testified that the Interior Ministry possessed information indicating Banev entered Bulgaria by air between late March 2022 and early June 2022. Subsequently, the SCC ruled in April 2025 that Banev would serve a total 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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