Anti-mafia Court Starts Work in Bulgaria
A special court and prosecutor's office set up to tackle organised crime cases started work in Bulgaria on Tuesday.
Whether an organised group will be tried by the special court or by a district court will depend on the type of crime it is charged with, state-run Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) said on Tuesday.
"When several indictments have been issued in a case, with some falling within the jurisdiction of the district court and others within that of the Specialised Criminal Court, and when the more serious alleged offense is outside the purview of the Specialised Criminal Court, the case should be divided between the two courts," BNR quoted the spokesman of the Specialised Prosecutor's Office, Plamen Markov, as saying.
The special court and prosecutor's office were set up as a key instrument in Bulgaria's country's fight against crime following severe criticism by the European Commission for its failure to convict mafia bosses.