The Sofia Appellate Court upheld a prior decision from a first-instance court, denying an application for the early release of Evelin “Brendo” Banev. Banev is currently serving a sentence in Sofia for drug trafficking. The initial denial of the early release application occurred at the Sofia City Court on March 27, 2026.
The request for release was submitted by the head of the Sofia Prison, where Banev is serving a 10-year sentence following convictions in Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania. Following the submission of the application, caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov suspended the prison head, Borislav Chobanski, after it was revealed he had initiated the release process. The first-instance court panel determined that Banev had not completed more than half of his sentence, which is a prerequisite for early release, thereby eliminating the grounds to assess the second condition regarding good behavior.
Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska stated that Banev had not furnished conclusive evidence demonstrating that the time served had achieved its corrective objective. 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 for his six-year sentence after his whereabouts became unknown.
Banev, who was subject to Interpol Red Notices since 2018, surrendered to Bulgarian authorities on June 24, 2024, and was taken to Sofia’s Central Prison. Subsequently, he requested that the Bulgarian court allow him to serve the sentences imposed in Italy and Romania within 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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