Controversial Bulgarian Judge Dismissed

The Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) of Bulgaria has decided to dismiss Rumyana Chenalova, a Bulgarian judge with three counts of disciplinary action and charges of malfeasance and document abuse.

Chenalova's name emerged in the spotlight after the French Ambassador, Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes, suggested her involvement in murky deals around the case of a French company which had been assigned to her (the so-called "Belvedere case").

Combined with her work on the SAPARD case, dealing with EU fund embezzlement, alongside her alleged involvement in the "Worms" affair (authorized wiretapping of protesters during the summer of 2013), this has prompted members of the VSS, often referred to as "the government of Bulgaria's judiciary", to dismiss Chenalova, who has vowed to appeal the decision before the Supreme Administrative Court.

Chenalova failed to appear at the VSS session where she had been invited to present her view. On Wednesday, reports emerged that she was being summoned to the State Agency for National Security (DANS) at the same hour when the VSS meeting was supposed to take place.