The Sofia District Court and the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office are conducting parallel investigations into judge Boyan Boyadjiev following the circulation of a video in which he verbally berates his 101-year-old grandfather. The footage, which emerged on Tuesday, shows the judge shouting insults, throwing tableware, and threatening the elderly relative over a lunch dispute inside an apartment on Yuri Venelin Street in central Sofia.
Parallel Inquiries Opened by Court Leadership and Prosecutors
The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office initiated a self-referred check after reviewing the video recording, as state prosecutors hold sole jurisdiction to investigate sitting magistrates. A designated prosecutor will examine the situation to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to launch a formal pre-trial proceeding. Simultaneously, Sofia District Court head Alexander Angelov ordered an internal administrative review, while Sofia City Court Chairman Rusi Alexiev inquired about the actions taken regarding Boyadjiev.
Public reaction to the footage generated a heavy volume of angry messages and phone calls directed at the official email addresses and telephone lines of both the Sofia City Court and the Sofia District Court. Judicial colleagues noted that judges are bound by a professional code of ethics requiring public conduct to rest on good manners, politeness, and courteous behavior in both professional and personal life.
Details of the Incriminating Video Footage
The video recording captures the magistrate shouting at his grandfather, identified by name in the footage as Belcho Boyadjiev. The young man yells that the elderly resident will receive no further lunches, threatening to throw meals off the balcony if the centenarian fails to understand. The audio captures the judge stating he will instruct his mother to buy no provisions for the pensioner other than cake.
Toward the end of the recording, the grandfather walks onto the balcony holding slices of bread, followed by the magistrate who reprimands him for hanging a drying cloth outside instead of keeping it in the main room. Colleagues familiar with Boyadjiev described him as easily irritable. He assumed his current role in the Civil Division of the Sofia District Court in early July, having previously served as a junior judge at the Sofia City Court.
Background of Centenarian Engineer Belcho Boyadjiev
Family acquaintances reported that the 101-year-old resident secured the central Sofia apartment after working for six years in Libya as a geodesist. According to records from the Union of Geodesists, engineer Belcho Boyadjiev was born on January 18, 1925, in Plovdiv and celebrated his centennial last year with colleagues. His professional history includes 23 years at the Main Directorate for Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre, authorship of more than 70 publications, and participation in four scientific research projects.
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