Bulgaria: Border Police Officers Suspended Following Murder Case at Sofia Border Crossing

The Main Directorate of the Border Police has temporarily suspended three border officers assigned to the Strezimirovtsi border crossing on the day of 49-year-old Kiril Rusev's murder. The officers faced suspension after two defendants in the murder case, Alexander Kinov and Petar Alexnadrov, attempted to manipulate the situation by crossing the Serbian border using Rusev's identity card.

The attempt was to create a false impression that Rusev had exited the country. However, subsequent cross-checks conducted by Serbian border authorities revealed that Kinov and Alexnadrov had re-entered Bulgaria using their original identity documents.

Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the officers by the order of the Main Directorate's director, Ch. Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, for violating border control regulations on January 4, 2024, at the Strezimirovtsi border crossing.