The Sofia Appellate Court recently upheld a lower court’s decision to deny an early release application for Evelin “Brendo” Banev, who is currently incarcerated in Sofia for drug trafficking charges. The initial denial of the early release request was issued by the Sofia City Court on March 27, 2026. The application was submitted by the head of the Sofia Prison, where Banev is serving a sentence totaling 10 years after convictions in Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania.
Following the submission of the request, caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov suspended the prison head, Borislav Chobanski, after it was revealed that he had initiated the application for Banev’s release. The first-instance court determined that Banev had not completed more than half of his total sentence, which is a prerequisite for early release. Consequently, the court found no grounds to assess the second condition related to good behavior.
Furthermore, Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska stated that Banev had not supplied conclusive evidence demonstrating that the time served had achieved its intended corrective purpose. Banev was initially arrested in 2012 during a joint Bulgarian-Italian law enforcement operation and subsequently received a 20-year sentence in Italy for involvement in an international cocaine-trafficking ring. In July 2018, the Sofia City Prosecution Office issued a European Arrest Warrant to locate him for the remainder of his sentence.
Banev, who had been subject to Interpol Red Notices since 2018, surrendered to Bulgarian authorities on June 24, 2024, and was taken to Sofia’s Central Prison. In April 2025, a court ruled that Banev would serve a total sentence of ten years and six months in Bulgaria for crimes committed in Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy, accounting for time already detained in Italy and Sofia.
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