The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Initiated Consultations with the US Government on Zhelyaz Andreev

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken urgent action to clarify all the circumstances surrounding the case of Bulgarian citizen Zhelyaz Andreev.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva, Deputy Minister Yuri Sterk, invited Ambassador to Bulgaria, Eric Rubin, and Bulgarian Ambassador to Washington, Tihomir Stoichev, urged to be accepted by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer clarifying the demands of the American side.

Extradition of Bulgarian citizens to the United States is governed by the Extradition Act and the European Arrest Warrant and by the Extradition Treaty between the Governments of the Republic of Bulgaria and the United States, ratified on 23 April 2008, which entered into force on 21 May 2009.

Pursuant to Art. Article 20 (1) of the Treaty MFA will request consultations between the US Department of Justice and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The specific request for extradition of Mr. Zhelyaz Andreev has entered the Supreme Prosecutor's Office of Cassation under international police cooperation. The MFA recalls that the extradition decision falls within the jurisdiction of the judiciary.

Twenty-nine-year-old Zhelyaz Andreev was detained this morning by the police in his hometown of Dobrich at the request of the Miami Prosecutor's Office. This was learned by Dnevnik from Andreev's friend Milena Zdravkova.

Dnevnik's attempts to contact the Dobrich district prosecutor Plamen Nikolov or the city police have been unsuccessful.

Andreev's arrest is in connection with an investigation by the authorities in Florida against 11 people on charges of violating the embargo on trade with Syria. Five of them - Zhelyaz Andreev...