Sofia Sity Court Holds Trial Against ex-IntMin Tsvetan Tsvetanov

A closed-doors trial against former Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov was held Thursday and is due to continue on September 29.

In the third and last case against Tsvetanov, the defendant is charged with allowing illegal surveillance while he was in office.

Sofia City Court has adjourned the trial a number of times for different reasons.

Tsvetanov is being tried alongside three former heads of SDOTO (Specialized Operative and Technical Information Directorate) - Tsvetan Ivanov, Kamen Kostov and Sergey Katsarov.

The former Interior Minister, who held the portfolio between 2009 and 2013, recently faced two charges.

He was acquitted in an embezzlement trial on May 26, but was sentenced after being found guilty of stopping six times surveillance requests in an investigation against the former head of the Interior's Chief Directorate Combating Organized Crime (GBDOP) in Veliko Tarnovo.