The story of fatally shot 18-year-old Svetlio Mladenov, suspected of a series of robberies, raised many questions over the past week. The situation was commented by Krasimir Kanev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) in the show "Offensive with Lyubo Ognyanov".

"We judge the situation on the facts reported so far in the case and on the basis of this we can assume that there is a flagrant violation of the law. In particular, Art. 87 of the Ministry of Interior Act, which allows the use of weapons only when it is absolutely necessary. And it also requires the police authorities to do everything possible to preserve the life of the person against them," Kanev said.

"I listened to exercises of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior on the issue of absolute necessity, which are completely incompetent for me. He said the condition of absolute necessity was met when the police warned and fired a warning shot. But this is a requirement of the law, and an addition to it is the absolute necessity. There are a number of factors that the employee has to consider, "said Krasimir Kanev.

The Chairman of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee commented that the factors discussed when commenting on the absolute necessity are - the nature of the crime committed, whether the person is a current danger to someone, what kind of weapon should be used, where it should be directed. None of these factors appear to have been adequately assessed in this situation.

"The response of the Bulgarian state in this situation can be none other than a criminal charge against the police officer and a sentence that takes into account the severity of the damage caused. We are talking about the loss of life of an 18-year-old youth," said the chairman of the BHC.

On the other hand, regarding the rights of victims of robbery, Kanev added: Their rights must be adequately advocated in the course of criminal proceedings. This is provided for in the Bulgarian legislation - when the persons who committed robberies are caught and handed over to court, victims have the right to enter these proceedings and participate in them.

Interior Ministry Secretary Explains Why Police Officer Who Killed 18-Year-Old Man Used His Personal Weapon

Sofia