Beautician Vana Gaberova, who is part of the Bulgarian cell that spied for Russia, stated today at the Central Criminal Court in London that she knew nothing about the activities of her "charming" friend Biser Dzhambazov while they were traveling together in Austria and Spain, BNR reported.
Giving testimony in the ongoing trial against the Bulgarian spies, Gaberova stated that Dzhambazov told her that he worked for Interpol and even showed her a fake pass and documents. When asked if she ever suspected that Dzhambazov's documents were not genuine, she said that even when she was arrested, she did not believe that anything was wrong.
Vanya Gaberova, her ex-boyfriend Tihomir Ivanchev, and Katrin Ivanova, who also had a relationship with Biser Dzhambazov, deny the charges of espionage. Biser Dzhambazov and Orlin Rusev, considered the ringleaders of the group, pleaded guilty early in the trial. Jurors were told today that one of the targets was investigative journalist Hristo Grozev, who exposed Russia's links to the 2018 "novichok" attack in Salisbury.
Gaberova said she had seen Grozev's home in Vienna with Dzhambazov before they traveled to Valencia, where the journalist was attending a work event. She said Dzhambazov had convinced her that Grozev was a bad person. On a personal level, Gaberova admitted that she began to have feelings for Dzhambazov in Valencia.
The court previously found that at the time of the suspects' arrest, both Gaberova and Ivanova believed that Dzhambazov was their close friend. Gaberova said that she told Dzhambazov that she wanted to be a police officer like him, and he assured her that this was entirely possible and that he knew people who could help her graduate from a suitable school. This made her extremely happy, according to Gaberova. The trial is ongoing.