Judges from the Penal Division of the Sofia City Court (SCC) have come up with a statement in support of Miroslava Todorova, judge at SCC and Chair of the Bulgarian Judges Association (BJA), who was repeatedly accused by Interior Minster Tsvetan Tsvetanov of affiliations with organized crime.

The document, which was released Thursday, has also been signed by Vladimira Yaneva, SCC Chair and close family friend of Tsvetanov, according to reports of the Bulgarian Legal World Magazine.

In a series of media appearances, Tsvetanov accused Todorova of patronizing organized crime and of being incompetent at her job.

He argued that she had delayed the issuing of written motives for verdicts against high-profile criminals, including drug lord Vasil Manikatov.

Todorova countered the accusations by saying that the delay had not allowed anybody to evade justice because the offender had been behind bars during the period.

The BJA Chair said Wednesday she would decide on filing a lawsuit against Tsvetanov in a week.

"Minister Tsvetanov certainly committed a slander and got my name involved in crimes. Slander affects human dignity. Minister Tsvetanov is not only affecting my personal and professional integrity but also the BJA, which plays a key role in the implementation of the judicial reform", Todorova told journalists Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, three former BJA chairs insisted that there were two ways to go about the situation - launch an investigation of Todorova in the case of sufficient evidence pointing to a crime, or subject the Interior Minister to a probe for malfeasance in office due to his comments.

In its Thursday statement, SCC judges protested Tsvetanov's comments that Todorova was "part of the Octopus in the judiciary and caters to the interests of organized crime"

"We believe that by declaring our support for Judge Todorova we are backing the idea for a constructive change in the judiciary - a system created to function on the basis of impartiality and professionalism," SCC staff wrote.

The magistrates also emphasized that inter-institutional relations related to fighting organized crime ought to be carried out within the competence of the respective organs and not through the media.

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