874.00/2–145: Telegram
The United States Representative in Bulgaria ( Barnes ) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 27:49 p.m.]
66. First and second divisions people’s courts Sofia, in sentencing this evening former Regents,53 Cabinet Ministers [of] Filov,54 Bojilov,55 Bagrianov56 and Muraviev57 governments, and King’s counsellors, far exceeded severity of penalty demanded by public prosecutors, thus giving a cue to the innumerable people’s courts now sitting or soon to sit throughout the country. The Sofia courts have condemned one hundred to death and twenty-nine to life imprisonment. If the provincial courts follow in this footpath, many hundreds, perhaps thousands, will be disposed of. Today’s sentences follow: Condemned to death—ex-Regents Prince Kiril, Filov and General Mihov; ex-Ministers Bojilov, Bagrianov, Gabrovsky, Mitakov, Daskalov, Zagorov, Kushev, engineer Vasilev, Goranov, Iotsov, Partov, Zahariev, engineer Petrov, Shishmanov,58 Docho Hristov, General Rusev, Ivan Vazov, Ivan Beshkov, Purvan Draganov,59 Dr. Stanishev, Staliisky and Boris Kolchev; court counsellors Sevov, Lulchev, Pomenov, Hanjiev, Rostov, Gruev, General Zhechev and Genchev; and 67 former National Assembly Deputies including Professor Tsankov now in Germany. [Page 155] Condemned to life imprisonment—ex-Ministers Arnaudov, Rusi Rusev, Muraviev and Dimov; counsellors Morfov and Balan; and 23 deputies. Lighter prison sentences are: ex-Ministers Hristo Vasilev and Savov, 15 years; Mushanov, Gichev and Burov,60 1 year; Gerginov, Pavlov, Popov and Daskalov, 1 year suspended sentence; and 26 deputies with sentences from 1 to 15 years. Confiscation of property of deceased ex-Ministers Ivan Popov,61 Radoslavov and Slaveiko Vasilev; and that of 9 deceased Deputies. Three deceased Deputies were declared innocent.
- Prince Cyril (Kiril), brother of the late King Boris III; Prof. Bogdan Filov, and Lt. Gen. Nikola Mihov, from September 9, 1943, to September 9, 1944.↩
- Bogdan Filov was Prime Minister from January 1, 1941, to September 9, 1943.↩
- Dobri Bozhilov (Bojilov) was Prime Minister from September 14, 1943, to June 1, 1944.↩
- Ivan Bagryanov was Prime Minister from June 1 to September 2, 1944.↩
- Konstantin Muraviev was Prime Minister from September 2 to 9, 1944.↩
- Dr. Dimiter Shishmanov was Minister for Foreign Affairs, October 18, 1943–June 1, 1944.↩
- Purvan Draganov was Minister for Foreign Affairs, June 13–September 2, 1944.↩
- Nikola Mushanov, former Prime Minister, leader of Democratic Party, and Minister without Portfolio, September 2–9, 1944; Dimitri (Dimiter) Gichev, leader of Agrarian Party and Minister without Portfolio, September 2–9, 1944: and Atanas Burov, former Minister for Foreign Affairs and leader of People’s Party, Minister without Portfolio, September 2–9, 1944.↩
- Minister for Foreign Affairs, January 1, 1941–April 11, 1942.↩