The murder was highly publicized among the media and the LGBT community.[1][2][3][4] At the time of the murder, Stoyanov was a 25-year-old medical student in Sofia, and he was killed after a rough beating. There were no arrests for the first two years, but in June 2010 police arrested two suspects - 19-year-old Radoslav Kirchev and 20-year-old Aleksandar Georgiev. During interrogations, the pair claimed that they were participating in a group of five who were "cleaning up" the park from gay men. Authorities soon received information about at least 10 other attacks, which needed more evidence. Later on, the mother of Mihail, Hristina Stoyanova, pointed out before the media that she was unsure if her son was actually gay or not.[5]
On May 4, 2012, a civil protest was organized against the slow process of Mihail's trial, as the investigation still hadn't ended, and the statute of limitations of two years was nearing an end, with which the suspects could be held on bail without being charged.[3][4] The investigation officially ended on May 28, but there were no charges against the suspects until the fourth anniversary of Mihail's death on September 30. This caused NGOs to launch a national campaign to include sexual orientation as a marker in the Criminal Codex, of which hate crimes can be committed against.[6][7][8][9]
In the middle of December 2012, the Sofia City Prosecutor presented an accusatory act against Aleksandar Georgiev and Radoslav Kirchev.[12][13]
Murder
On September 30, 2008, around 9:30 PM, Mihail Stoyanov left his home on "Mladost 3" in Sofia. He told his mother, Hristina, that he wants to take a break from studying for the matura and that he will return soon. He wore jeans, a green T-shirt with long sleeves, a grey and blue vest, beige-orange sports shoes and grey socks.[14]
According to the prosecutor, later that night in an alley in Borisova gradina, Stoyanov came across a group of boys, among them Radoslav "Ratsata" Kirchev and Aleksandar "G" Georgiev. When he passed them, one of the boys attacked Mihail and started punching him in the face, head and chest, while another grabbed his face and started squeezing it. During the fight, a sudden snap was heard - the breaking of a bone. Stoyanov was beaten severely - kicked, strangled and jumped on. The student did not fight back, barely taking a breath before fainting. The assailants ditch him on the alley near the "Ropotamo" stop. Before fleeing, Georgiev turned him over and rummaged through his jeans' pockets, stealing a Nokia which would later give him away.[14]
Mihail's body was found 30 meters deep in the park. The student had choked to death, due to asphyxiation.[14]
Investigation
After the murder, Kirchev boasted that he had beaten up Stoyanov, along with his friend Georgiev. According to the investigators, he even told a witness how the victim's neck "snapped".[14]
Georgiev was the first to talk. He first asked a friend what would happen, if he killed somebody or was an accomplice to a murder. He then told him about the incident in the park, even mentioning the stolen mobile phone.[14]
Indictments against the pair occurred after one of them used Stoyanov's phone around 50 days following the attack. Georgiev then told a friend of his to claim that he had bought it from somebody. Questionings by investigators and examinations of the places where it was used, however, proved the opposite. During an examination of the crime scene, hairs, keys, coins and a red comb were found, as well as blood under Mihail Stoyanov's nails.[14]
The prosecutor made the murder charge, on the basis of hooliganistic tendencies. According to them, the attackers thought that the student looked like a gay, and that's why they hurled themselves at him. One from the group explained after the murder that there were many condoms in the park, which annoyed them very much. They believed it was from homosexuals, who "messed up the park". According to the defendant's lawyers, there was no evidence that the murder was done on homophobic grounds.[14]
The version that Kirchev and Georgiev had an accomplice remained, as the blood found under Mihail's nails wasn't theirs. Initially, there was a third suspect, but the investigation against him was canceled.[14]
Radoslav and Aleksandar were arrested on June 2, 2010. Due to the investigation taking too long, they were released on parole.[14]
Hristina Stoyanova pointed out before the media that the slowness of the trial was due to the fact that the accused constantly complained about wanting to get released: "They always wanted to get released from prison and thus stalled the trial".[14]
Trial
In the end of October 2013, the first hearings were conducted for the case.[15]
The pleadings for the case were set for June 15, 2014.[16]
Public reactions
On May 21, 2013, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee asked for a second time the head prosecutor, now Sotir Tsatsarov, that the murder case be held under special circumstances.[17]
Related Research Articles
Ilian Stoyanov is a former Bulgarian football defender. In Bulgaria he is also known as Collovati, because of his haircut in the past, reminiscent of that of former Italian midfielder Fulvio Collovati.
Marian Georgiev Hristov is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Since his retirement from playing, he has worked as an assistant manager.
Zoran Janković is a football manager and former player. Born in Yugoslavia, he represented Bulgaria as a player.
Mariyan Georgiev Ognyanov is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.
Martin Andreev Kamburov is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the top scorer in Bulgarian First League history with 256 goals.
Svetoslav Dyakov is a Bulgarian professional retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and now a manager, who currently works as assistant manager for Ludogorets Razgrad. He was the club captain of Ludogorets Razgrad and, between 2015 and 2017, was the captain of the national team as well.
Kostadin Stoyanov is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as defender.
Ivan Stoyanov is a Bulgarian football coach and a former player who played as a winger or attacking midfielder. He is the manager of Sliven.
Vladislav Boykov Stoyanov is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Borislav Baldzhiyski is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bulgarian Third League club Botev Ihtiman.
Todor Lyubchev Nedelev is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Ludogorets Razgrad.
Krum Stoyanov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a defender for Etar Veliko Tarnovo.
The 2013–2014 Bulgarian protests against the Oresharski cabinet was a series of demonstrations that were held in Bulgaria, mainly in the capital Sofia, against the left-wing coalition cabinet of Oresharski. The demonstrations started on 28 May 2013, but actual large-scale protests did not emerge until 14 June. While the trigger factor for the demonstrations was the controversial appointment of Delyan Peevski as head of DANS in June 2013, the public discontent stemmed from a variety of causes, to a large extent connected to the general nature of the BSP-MRF governing coalition and perceived legitimacy issues surrounding political processes in Bulgaria. They ended in July 2014 with the resignation of the Oresharski government.
Galina Vicheva Gencheva known professionally as Galena, is a Bulgarian pop-folk singer.
Daniel Genadiev Naumov is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for CSKA 1948.
Nikolay Kirov is a Bulgarian football manager and former footballer.
Mihail Popov is a former Bulgarian badminton player, and later represented France. He represented Bulgaria at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the men's singles and doubles event. He now works as a Bulgarian national badminton coach. Popov had won seven Bulgarian National Championships title, 3 in the singles event, and four in the men's doubles event partnered with Svetoslav Stoyanov. In France, he clinched two times men's doubles national title in 2004 partnered with Manuel Dubrulle, and in 2007 with Stoyanov.
Democratic Bulgaria is an electoral alliance in Bulgaria formed by three political parties – Yes, Bulgaria!, Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria and The Greens. The union was created on 12 April 2018.
Daniel Nachev is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spartak Varna.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
