Bulgarian court wants extradition of politician from NZ

Bulgarian justice officials say they want their government to seek the extradition of a former regional governor who fled to Auckland after being shot.

Varna District Court spokeswoman Elena Bhanghieva said the court wanted the Bulgarian to demand the extradition of Dobrin Mitev from New Zealand, the Bulgarian News Network reports.

Mitev, former governor of the Bulgarian city of Varna, a port on the Black Sea, was sentenced in absentia to five years in jail by a Bulgarian court last year while he was living in Auckland, according to Bulgarian state news agency BTA.

Mitev was the governor of the main Bulgarian port city between 1997 and 2000, but stepped down when the city's shipyards closed.

The Varna District Court sentenced him to five years in jail in March 2004 after a jury found him guilty on three charges or misappropriating state-owned land and real estates.

Miteve was first charged in 2002, but proceedings dragged on for months as courts continually returned the case for re-investigation. The verdict was delivered eight months after Mitev had fled to New Zealand, while on bail of 1000 leva ($940).

Mitev left the country after being shot in the leg in 2002, by an unknown gunman in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.

News reports at the time linked the shooting to the sale of a Black Sea resort.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Labour's Immigration Service said Mr Mitev was lawfully in the country.

She said the service was continuing an investigation begun into Mr Mitev last year.

"This investigation is still ongoing and we are seeking more information from Bulgaria," she said.

The Immigration Service had never sought to have Mr Mitev arrested.

" There is no more we can say until the investigation is complete" she said.

A police spokesman said that no application had so far been made through Interpol for the extradition of Mr Mitev.

- NZPA