With the assistance of the law firm, the conditions for the successful transfer of a Bulgarian citizen convicted abroad were met, as the sentence imposed by the judicial authorities of the Republic of Hungary for illegal trafficking of illegal migrants was recognized and accepted for enforcement in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Transfer of a convicted person abroad – sentence in Hungary
Kiril* was convicted of illegal trafficking of migrants and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, to be served in a Hungarian prison. The crime was committed by transporting ten illegal migrants from the interior of Hungary to the Austrian border for financial gain. Additional aggravating circumstances of Kiril’s act are the fact that he was part of a group involved in the illegal trafficking of migrants, used a motor vehicle, and assisted more than one person in crossing the border illegally, some of whom were minors.
Regarding the low amount of the imposed penalty, the Hungarian court justifies with the fact that at the time of the commission of the crime, Kiril had a clean criminal record and was extremely young – only 20 years old.
After Kiril’s sentence came into force and he was imprisoned in Hungary, his family contacted the Sylvia Petkova Law Firm with the aim of hiring a lawyer specializing in international criminal law to initiate the procedure for recognition of the Hungarian sentence, its acceptance for enforcement, and the transfer of a Bulgarian citizen convicted abroad.
* In order to preserve attorney-client privilege, names have been changed.
Transfer of a convicted person abroad – the ruling of the Bulgarian court
The court hearing for the recognition and acceptance for enforcement of the Hungarian judgment is scheduled for three weeks after the submission of the application three weeks after submission of the request for transfer of the convicted person to abroad Bulgarian citizen.
During this court hearing, the Bulgarian court issued a ruling stating that there were sufficient grounds for recognizing and accepting the sentence for enforcement, as the crime was related to aiding illegal entry and residence in the country , an act for which double criminality is not required as a condition for the transfer of a person convicted abroad. Given that Bulgarian law contains a criminal offense that is identical to the one on the basis of which the Bulgarian citizen was convicted, there was no need to adjust or reduce the sentence, as the term of imprisonment determined by the Hungarian authorities was within the limits provided for in the Bulgarian Penal Code.
The sentence was classified as “general,” which means that the convicted person has the right to work, and the term of imprisonment will be reduced, with two working days counting as three days of imprisonment. The time the convicted person served his sentence in Hungary was deducted.
Conditional early release will be possible after serving at least half of the sentence imposed or reduced by work.
Finally, the Bulgarian court ordered that they be notified Hungarian authorities after entry into force of the decision for the purpose of organizing the physical transfer of a convicted Bulgarian citizen abroad.
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Silvia Petkova Sole Proprietorship Law Firm provides specialized legal assistance in cases involving the transfer of persons convicted abroad by lawyers experienced in this field of criminal law.
Contact:
Working hours: Monday to Friday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Address: Sofia, 2 Tri Ushi Str., 3rd floor
Tel. 0885 47 77 57
Email: office@petkovalegal.com
Consultations by phone and at the office, as well as representation in court cases, are carried out only by appointment.