Despite promises of full transparency and "clearing up the case", the acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov refused to provide the report from the inspection of all prosecutorial files and pre-trial proceedings related to the "Eight Dwarfs" case. This is clear from an official response by Deputy Prosecutor General Elena Karakasheva to a request from the "Sega" newspaper. under the Access to Public Information Act (APIA).
In her refusal, Karakasheva, authorized by Sarafov to respond under the law, defends the absurd thesis that the APIA is applicable only to the administrative functions of the judiciary, but not to prosecutorial activities in specific criminal proceedings.
Contrary to today's refusal, in July 2023, when Sarafov was appointed Acting Prosecutor General, he categorically stated before the Supreme Judicial Council: "The 'Eight Dwarfs' case, if not investigated objectively, comprehensively and completely, is an obstacle to the normalization of the prosecutor's office. And the prosecutor's office cannot continue without this case being cleared in a categorical and objective manner.
Then Sarafov declared a personal interest in the case: "Just as society and the prosecutor's office institution need this case to be investigated and clarified, and cleared to the end in all its aspects, in all its ramifications and metastases, so I personally, as a magistrate, have a need and necessity for this".
Nearly two years later, it is only known that the prosecutor's office terminated the main investigation into the saga. Currently, the decree to terminate the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office is being reviewed by the Appellate Prosecutor's Office, with the report from the revision of the cases being attached to the prosecutor's file.
Attorney Alexander Kashumov, director of the "Access to Information" Program, commented to "Sega" that the prosecutor's office's interpretation contradicts the law and case law. According to him, the prosecutor's office is becoming an increasingly closed institution.
Kashamov also recalls the interpretative case 6/2024, initiated at Sarafov's request at the end of last year, the aim of which is to turn the prosecutor's office into an even more opaque institution. The case is scheduled for consideration on April 30, when the judges will reformulate Sarafov's questions, trying to legitimize his request, despite doubts as to whether, as an acting, rather than a titular, official, he has the authority to initiate an interpretative case at all.