Alexey Petrov to be treated in hospital

The detained Alexey Petrov remains in custody, but the Prosecutor's Office must provide him hospital treatment, decided yesterday the Sofia City Court, which once again heard a case for changing the imposed preventive detention measure with a lighter one. The former advisor to the State Agency for National Security (SANS), has been in custody since the beginning of February on charges of organizing and leading a criminal group for racketeering, tax fraud and duress.
Petrov's treatment could be carried out at one of the indicated hospitals – Pirogov in Sofia, the Military Medical Academy (MМА), the General Hospital of Active Treatment ''Saint Ivan Rilski'' or Tokuda hospital, ruled the magistrates.

Before coming to this decision, the judges were acquainted with fivefold medical expertise for the state of health of the former Special Forces commando. According to the medical conclusion issued to Petrov, he must undergo three urgent surgical operations, because he is threatened of becoming disabled. He must be treated adequately in specialised hospital, while interventions could be implemented in every high-tech hospital, excluding the medical establishments to the places of imprisonment, according to experts. They noted that the operations were urgently scheduled and together with the subsequent recovery these would take at least 5-6 months.

According to Petrov's defense, he is suffering from muscle atrophy, some screws for his metal artificial joint are broken and he has two disc hernias as well severe arthritis. The commission of experts also added to these illnesses the need for surgery of tonsils since they were chronically inflamed. In the doctors' words, currently the diseases were not threatening the life of the accused, but because of his stay in custody, his condition deteriorated, and unless measures were not taken, he would become immobile.

The medical expertise was adopted by the Court, but the Prosecutor on the case, Milko Momchev, insisted that the medical treatment be carried out without the release of the detainee. He reminded a similar court's decision ruled for the treatment of Zlatomir Ivanov aka the Commando.

According to Petrov's defense, the first option is to undergo a surgical operation and to be returned to recover in custody. However, the other alternative is for Petrov to be left in the hospital even after the operation, but with state-funded security guards during the recovery period.
Petrov himself stated before the Court that his stay in custody was not because of his guilt, but due to political pressure and power, presented as a public interest.