Bulgarian witnesses in Bartashevich case refuse to go to court: say they'll get to Liepāja faster by tram
Witnesses from Bulgaria in the former Rēzekne mayor's criminal case prove that international legal cooperation is as complicated as trying to explain to foreigners why Latvia has only one tram.
The Vidzeme District Court experienced a truly international adventure this week, organizing a video conference with Bulgaria as part of former Rēzekne mayor Bartashevich's criminal case. Turns out even Bulgarians have heard about the quality of our legal proceedings and are reacting accordingly.
Two of the four witnesses simply didn't show up at the Bulgarian court, apparently deciding they had better things to do than talk about some Latvian ex-mayor's shenanigans. "We think they might have gotten scared by the speed of our legal proceedings," comments one local legal expert. "They heard the process lasts as long as it takes to get from one end to the other on Liepāja's tram — and that frightened them."
Now the court has decided to bring the no-show witnesses by force, which in Bulgarian probably sounds even more terrifying than in Latvian. While Bartashevich and his wife already have a travel ban imposed on them, the Bulgarians will now have to travel into the country.
The defense, not giving up, has announced three new witnesses from Bulgaria. Apparently hoping that one of them will be brave enough or simply won't know what they've signed up for. The next court session is scheduled for May 7th, when we can finally find out whether the Bulgarians will be able to tell us what everyone already knows about the former mayor's declaration-filling skills.
⚠️ Satirical article. Facts are preserved, but the presentation is humorous. For accurate information, please refer to the original source.