The Sofia Appellate Court upheld a prior ruling denying the request for the early release of Evelin “Brendo” Banev, who is currently incarcerated in Sofia serving a sentence related to drug trafficking. The initial denial of the early release application occurred at the Sofia City Court on March 27, 2026. The application was submitted by the head of the Sofia Prison, where Banev is serving a total of ten years after receiving sentences in Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania.
In late March, the caretaker Justice Minister, Andrey Yankulov, suspended the prison head, Borislav Chobanski, after it was revealed that he had submitted the release application. The first-instance court panel determined that Banev had not completed more than half of his sentence, which is a fundamental legal prerequisite for early release. Consequently, there were deemed insufficient grounds to assess the second condition concerning good behavior.
Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska stated that Banev had failed to provide conclusive evidence demonstrating that the time served had achieved its rehabilitative 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 his role in an international cocaine-trafficking network. In July 2018, the Sofia City Prosecution Office issued a European Arrest Warrant to locate him for a six-year sentence, as his whereabouts were unknown.
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. Following his arrival, he requested that the Bulgarian court allow him to serve his Italian and Romanian sentences 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 in Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy, deducting time already served in detention in Italy and Sofia.
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