'Watergate'-Discredited Bulgarian Prosecutor Files Total Resignation

Politics » DOMESTIC | April 29, 2013, Monday // 10:16

Resigned Sofia City Prosecutor Nikolay Kokinov has also filed a resignation from his position as a prosecutor, said Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov.

Monday Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council convenes to discuss the disciplinary measures to take up against Kokinov.

According to Tsatsarov, the Council is not regulatorily allowed to approve Kokinov's resignation from the prosecutor's seat, once a disciplinary procedure against him has started.

The Council is however expected to approve Kokinov's resignation from the position of head of the Sofia City Prosecution.

The prosecutor was one of the actors in a scandalous recorded conversation that was leaked to the public end of last week, also including former Bulgarian PM and current GERB party leader Boyko Borisov, and former Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov.

In the conversation, Kokoninov, Borisov and Naydenov are heard discussing ways to impede court procedings against Naydenov, who has been charged with abuse of power.

Commentators believe that part of the conversation might constitute the crime of attempting to thwart justice.

The conversation also gained notoriety with the rampant use of profanity and blatantly politically incorrect speech.

Nikolay Kokinov filed his resignation as Sofia City Prosecutor hours after the recording was leaked on Friday.

The tape leak comes in the context of a wider 'Watergate'-style scandal shaking Bulgaria after the prosecution revealed findings showing that the Ministry of Interior under former minister and GERB vice-chair Tsvetan Tsvetanov practiced massive use of special surveillance devices in violation of regulations.

Opposition leaders have commented that GERB has used its term in office to spy on political and economic opponents.

The scandal has contributed to an increasingly sharp campaign leading up to the May 12 early parliamentary elections.

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Tags: Sofia City Prosecutor, Sotir Tsatsarov, Nikolay Kokinov, Boyko Borisov, Miroslav Naydenov, Watergate, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, special surveillance devices. GERB, elections

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