The trial against the Bulgarian citizens accused of espionage in favor of Russia continues in the United Kingdom, BNR reported.
At the last session of the Central Criminal Court, the lawyers of Vanya Gaberova, Katrin Ivanova and Tihomir Ivanchev were heard, who continue to plead not guilty.
The leaders of the spy cell Orlin Rusev and Biser Dzhambazov pleaded guilty at the beginning of the trial. Gaberova, Ivanova and Ivanchev, however, deny knowingly spying for Russia and claim to be the victims of deception and manipulation.
Gaberova's lawyer Anthony Meltzer said that Biser Dzhambazov skillfully used his mistress as a shield in his espionage operations. He lied to her that he worked for Interpol, and she was convinced that she was going on vacations with him, not on intelligence operations. Meltzer said that the reality was that Gaberova was "completely infatuated with Dzhambazov, and this clouded her judgment while she was conducting surveillance." According to Meltzer, Gaberova is a “simple-minded, naive beautician from a small town in Bulgaria“.
Ivanchev's lawyer, who is Gaberova's former boyfriend, told the court that she left his client for Dzhambazov, who offered her “a better life”. Dzhambazov's ex-girlfriend, Kartin Ivanova, claims she thought the surveillance of Ukrainian soldiers at a US army base near Stuttgart was a “romantic getaway” and found videos from inside the base on YouTube. Her defense attorney, Rupert Bowers, said the video she filmed showed that the base was on a main road and that no special surveillance or sophisticated equipment was needed.
Dzhambazov and Ivanova were accused of planning to use sophisticated devices to extract information from the phones of employees at the base. However, there is a video on YouTube uploaded by Americans Tim and Michelle Foster, who give a tour of their apartment on the base, discussing the "great location" along with the size of the bathroom. Ivanova also denies having 18 fake IDs and passports. The trial is ongoing.