Krum Zarkov defends Iliyana Yotova over pardon controversy

Krum Zarkov, leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and former Minister of Justice, has defended presidential candidate Iliyana Yotova regarding her 2022 decision to pardon Ognyan Atanasov, a convicted drug trafficker often referred to in media as the ‘Bulgarian Escobar’.

Zarkov characterized the controversy as a recycled political attack that has previously been used against President Rumen Radev. He stated that the pardon was based on a recommendation from an expert medical commission which determined that Atanasov’s health condition was incompatible with imprisonment and that he faced death if he remained in custody.

Zarkov argued that Atanasov’s subsequent criminal activities after his release should not be attributed to Yotova. He dismissed the ‘Escobar’ label as a sensationalist tactic and rejected calls for Yotova to withdraw from the presidential race due to the incident.