The Sofia Appellate Court affirmed a prior ruling by a first-instance court, denying an application for the early release of Evelin “Brendo” Banev, who is currently incarcerated in Sofia for drug trafficking offenses. The initial denial of the early release application occurred on March 27, 2026. The request for release originated from the head of the Sofia Prison, where Banev is serving a sentence following convictions in Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania.
The legal process was complicated by the suspension of the prison head, Borislav Chobanski, by caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov, after it was revealed that Chobanski had initiated the release application. The first-instance court determined that Banev had not completed more than half of his total sentence, which is a prerequisite for considering the second condition related to good behavior. Furthermore, Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska stated that Banev had failed to present conclusive evidence demonstrating that the time served had achieved a corrective purpose.
Banev was first arrested in 2012 during a joint Bulgarian-Italian law enforcement operation and subsequently received a 20-year sentence in Italy for his role in an international cocaine-trafficking ring. In July 2018, the Sofia City Prosecution Office issued a European Arrest Warrant for his six-year sentence after his whereabouts became unknown. Banev surrendered to Bulgarian authorities on June 24, 2024, and was taken to Sofia’s Central Prison.
Subsequently, the Bulgarian court was asked to allow him to serve his Italian and Romanian sentences in Bulgaria. In April 2025, the SCC ruled that Banev would serve a total of ten years and six months in Bulgaria for crimes committed across Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy, with time already detained in Italy and Sofia being deducted.
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