Sofia Courts Paralyzed after Bomb Tip-off

The buildings of all courts in the Bulgarian capital Sofia were hurriedly emptied early on Friday in the wake of an anonymous bomb alert.

The signal claiming that a bomb has been deployed at the building of an unspecified court was received by authorities at 9 am local time.

All magistrates in the Palace of Justice, the Court of Appeals and the Administrative Court resumed their work an hour later, but Sofia District Court decided to halt its work for a day.

A bomb disposal squad is currently combing the area.

The bomb tip-off comes after a series of scandals shook and discredited Bulgaria's judicial system.

On Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Council adopted highly controversial rules for the election of a new chief prosecutor. This came on top of the ongoing scandal that erupted over the appointment of constitutional judge Veneta Markovska.

Just a month ago the the entrance of Bulgarian capital Sofia's Palace of Justice, home to various judicial institutions and organizations, woke up "vandalized".

The still unknown perpetrators threw tomato paste at the building presumably in protest against the judicial system.