The Sofia Appellate Court recently upheld a prior ruling that denied an early release application for Evelin “Brendo” Banev, who is currently incarcerated in Sofia. Banev is serving a sentence following convictions in Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania for drug trafficking. The initial denial of the early release application occurred on March 27, 2026, by the Sofia City Court.
The request originated from the head of the Sofia Prison. In related proceedings, caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov suspended the prison head, Borislav Chobanski, after it was revealed that Chobanski had submitted the release application. The first-instance court panel determined that Banev had not completed more than half of his total sentence, which is a fundamental legal prerequisite for considering early release.
Consequently, the court found no grounds to evaluate the second condition related to good behavior. Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska stated that Banev had failed to provide conclusive evidence demonstrating that the time served had achieved its intended corrective purpose. Banev was initially arrested in 2012 during a joint law enforcement operation involving Bulgaria and Italy.
He was later sentenced to 20 years in Italy for involvement with an international cocaine-trafficking network. Following the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant in 2018, Banev surrendered to Bulgarian authorities on June 24, 2024, and was taken to Sofia’s Central Prison. Subsequently, the Bulgarian court ruled in April 2025 that Banev would serve a total of ten years and six months in Bulgaria for crimes committed across the three nations, accounting for time already served in detention.
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