Police officers acquitted on Mironov death case

Back to HR News main page

On 5 March 2002 a three-member panel of Sofia Military Court acquitted the two police officers accused of inflicting bodily injury resulting in the death of Milotin Mironov.

Mr Mironov died on 9 January 2001 during a police raid in the Pavlovo Hotel in Sofia where he was employed as a handyman. After the incident the Sofia Directorate of the Interior Ministry reported that the victim had suffered a heart attack as a result of fright, although the police officers were not looking for him during the raid. The medical examination however established that the cause of death was a tearing of the pleura by three broken ribs. A preliminary investigation was launched as a result of witness testimonies that two of the police officers kicked and hit Mironov. Two of the witnesses reported that they saw Mironov die after one of the two police officers kicked him in the chest. The two officers were accused of causing bodily injury which lead to the victim's subsequent death.

During the court proceedings the Sofia Directorate of the Interior Ministry failed to locate the two witnesses for four months in spite them being announced for a local and nationwide search. As a result, the court pronounced its decision without considering their testimony. The two police officers were acquitted on the charges.

The victim's relatives will appeal the decision.