Parliament will hold an emergency session today on the pardon of Ognyan Atanasov, not on Wednesday as first announced. The National Assembly gave the new date.
On 9 October, MPs decided there would be no plenary sittings or committee meetings from 21 to 30 October 2026 inclusive.
How the story began: MPs to hold emergency session on Wednesday over pardon of Ognyan Atanasov
The agenda has one item: hearings with officials and a doctor. Asen Vasilev of "We Continue the Change" and a group of MPs called for the session. Atanasov was pardoned by Decree No. 119 of 5 December 2022.
Vasil Kordev, who was prison governor in November and December 2022, is first on the list to be heard. He is followed by chief commissioner Ivaylo Yordanov, head of the Chief Directorate for the Execution of Sentences (GDIN), and senior commissioner Svetoslav Penov, governor of the Sofia prison. Also invited are the head of the "Medical Services in Places of Detention" unit at GDIN, the head of the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and the chair of the Pardons Commission at the president's office.
The list also includes the doctor who wrote or signed the medical opinion on Atanasov that was used for the pardon, the chief secretary of the Interior Ministry and the head of the Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime. The director of the Specialised Hospital for Active Treatment at the Sofia prison has also been proposed.
MPs will look at how the medical opinions and the information on Atanasov's conduct were prepared, checked and handed over. Topics include how the incident of 16 November 2022 was recorded, and reports of possible pressure and threats against doctors and their relatives. They will also look at how information was shared with the president's office.
An earlier attempt to hold an emergency session on the pardon failed on 13 October because there was no quorum.
Last week Nikolay Denkov, head of the PP group, told reporters in the parliament corridors that the signatures for a new session had been collected. He said "Democratic Bulgaria" and GERB-SDS backed the request, while "Revival" did not sign.