The Sofia Appellate Court recently affirmed a first-instance court’s ruling denying the early release of Evelin “Brendo” Banev, who is currently serving a sentence in Sofia for drug trafficking. The initial court panel determined that Banev has not completed more than half of his mandated sentence, which constitutes a prerequisite for considering the second condition for release. Consequently, the court found no basis to assess the second condition pertaining to good behavior.
Prosecutor Gergana Kyurkchiyska stated that Banev failed to present conclusive evidence demonstrating that the time served had achieved a corrective purpose. Banev was initially arrested in 2012 during a joint Bulgarian-Italian law enforcement operation and subsequently received a 20-year prison sentence in Italy for participation in an international cocaine-trafficking network. In July 2018, the Sofia City Prosecution Office issued a European Arrest Warrant to locate him for serving 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 transferred to Sofia’s Central Prison. Subsequently, Banev requested that the Bulgarian court allow him to serve his sentences from Italy and Romania within Bulgaria. During a parliamentary hearing on June 28, 2024, caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov stated that the Interior Ministry possessed information indicating Banev entered Bulgaria by plane between late March 2022 and early June 2022.
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, with time already served in detention in Italy and Sofia being deducted from the total term.
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The court upholding the denial of early release means Banev must remain incarcerated until his mandated sentence is significantly reduced.