Haskovo Regional Court has started the trial of Lyutvi Hasan for a second time. Hasan is charged over the death of Yordan Bozukov. The court made the decision today at a preliminary hearing.
Hasan, 62, holds Bulgarian and Turkish citizenship. He is charged with causing the death of Bozukov, 23, by negligence in a crash on 20 March 2023 on the road between Haskovo and Dimitrovgrad.
Prosecutors say Hasan was driving with 2.03 per mille of alcohol in his blood. They say he caught up with Bozukov's car and hit it from behind. The impact sent Bozukov's car into a concrete wall. Bozukov died in hospital eight days later.
After the crash, Hasan left Bulgaria for Turkey. On 13 March 2025, he gave himself up to the Bulgarian authorities of his own will at the Lesovo border checkpoint.
The first trial ended on 15 January this year. Haskovo Regional Court found him guilty and sentenced him to seven years in prison. The Court of Appeal in Plovdiv then sent the case back for a new trial. It ruled that the panel which heard and decided the first case was unlawfully constituted. One lay judge took part in the preliminary hearing, while a different one sat in the trial itself.
As in the first case, the defence asked for a shortened trial. The court rejected the request and kept the detention order in place.
The next hearing is on 26 November.