Former Bulgarian MEP murdered at 60 in Sofia

Uformer Member of the European Parliament and current president of the Bulgarian Federation of Taekwondo, Slavcho Binev, was assassinated today at the age of 60 in the capital of Bulgaria, today sources of the Interior Ministry have been revealed.

Slavcho Binev, who was also a member of the Bulgarian Parliament and former martial arts champion in Bulgaria, he was shot dead at home, in Sofia, according to sources from the Ministry of Interior that confirmed the incident to the Spanish news agency EFE.

Sources explained that the motive for the crime was a “domestic dispute”.

The alleged perpetrators of the murder are three armed men and were arrested on a highway trying to escape Sofia, added the sources of the Interior Ministry.

Slavcho Binev began his political career in the ultra-nationalist far-right party Ataka, for which he was elected to the European Parliament in 2007.

The politician was re-elected to the European Parliament after the 2009 European elections in Bulgaria.

According to EFE, Slavcho Binev joined the Bulgarian Parliament after the 2014 parliamentary elections, this time as a member of the Patriotic Front, another nationalist party.

Slavcho Binev, known as ‘Slavi’ Binev, participated in taekwondo competitions and was European champion in 1992, becoming later political and owner of various discos in Sofia.

For years, he also trained the national team of taekwondo before occupying leadership positions in various sports organizations, including the Bulgarian Taekwondo Federation, whose presidency renewed for a five-year term in May.

Slavcho Binev was also a member of the executive board of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee for many years, according to the EFE.

Its name is linked to the turbulent years of the 1990s, during the transition from the communist regime to democracy, an era marked by organized crime and gang wars.