Bulgaria: How six deaths fueled distrust in the authorities

DW News · Feb 17, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Six bodies, one mountain lodge set ablaze and many unanswered questions. For over two weeks now, the news cycle in Bulgaria has been dominated by what the authorities there have described as a criminal case "like no other in the country's history." On February 2, three men were found dead next to a partially burned-out lodge near the Petrohan Pass, close to the Serbian border in western Bulgaria. The owner of the lodge, Ivaylo Kalushev, together with a 22-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy, were missing. All of them lived in the lodge and were part of the National Protected Areas Control Agency (NACPT), a Bulgarian non-governmental organization. Comparison with the TV show 'Twin Peaks' As news of the discovery broke, acting Chief Prosecutor Borislav Sarafov spoke to the media, portraying the NGO's activities as "unholy." When a journalist suggested that what Sarafov was saying sounded like a "sectarian network involved in pedophilia," the chief prosecutor replied: "You understood that correctly".Prosecutor Borislav Sarafov spoke to the media after the discovery of the bodies of three men, portraying the activities of the NGO to which the men had belonged as 'unholy'Image: BGNES "Life sometimes offers more striking circumstances than the ones in the series 'Twin Peaks,'" he said. The case that shocked a nation The remarks, none of which were immediately backed up by evidence, opened a Pandora's box of speculation about the NGO, with suggestions that it was a paramilitary group or even a Buddhist cult. Six days later, on February 8, this speculation went into overdrive when the three missing people were found dead in a campervan at Okoltchica Peak, about 80 km (50 miles) from the first crime scene. The investigators' main hypothesis was that they were looking at four suicides and two murders. Who was the main protagonist? Most of the speculation centers on Ivaylo Kalushev, the head of the NACPT. Kalushev was a speleologist and ranger who worked in both Bulgaria and Mexico. It has been confirmed that he and members of the organization patrolled the mountains of western Bulgaria, keeping an eye out for poachers, illegal logging and potential human trafficking. The head of Bulgaria's criminal police confirmed that the authorities had in the past worked together with Kalushev and his crew.On February 2, the first three bodies were found outside a partially burned-out lodge in the mountains near GintsiImage: BGNES Although Kalushev and other members of the group legally owned multiple weapons, the authorities have denied allegations that the NACPT operated as a paramilitary organization. Accusations and reports against the NACPT Kalushev, a Buddhist, also welcomed children to the lodge with parental consent, where they received instruction in speleology, communal living and spiritual practices. In many cases, the children stopped attending school regularly and began living at the lodge. Following Kalushev's death, a man who had received instruction from him as a minor publicly claimed in an interview with the investigative medium Bird that he had been sexually abused by Kalushev as a boy and had reported this to the authorities in 2022. His mother, on the other hand, accuses him of lying. In an interview for the YouTube channel Dneven red, she admits having given Kalushev, whom she viewed as a "spiritual leader," large sums of money.The institutional subplots that raise questions The NGO was reported to the relevant authorities several times in the last four years. At least one of these reports included accusations that Kalushev had committed sexual acts or "acts of fornication." Nothing happened as a result of these reports, and no detailed investigation was carried out. However, according to accounts in the public domain from people close to Kalushev, information about the reports was later leaked to him, raising concerns about a possible source within the authorities.Journalist Georgi Marchev says that the initial reactions of the chief prosecutor and the investigators facilitated the spread of conspiracy theories because they 'encouraged journalists and the public to read between the lines'Image: Privat Contradictory statements about the number of cartridges found at the first crime scene, together with publicly released CCTV footage from the lodge, showing the group waving goodbye on February 1, have further fueled conspiracy theories about the involvement in the killings of drug trafficking networks and even state authorities. None of these claims have been backed up by official evidence. Conspiracy theories abound The case has highlighted the Bulgarian public's deep distrust of the state prosecution and police force. Acting Chief Prosecutor Sarafov, for example, is deeply unpopular in Bulgaria. His approval rating stood at a mere 4% in December, according to a poll by Alpha Research. At the same time, political parties are instrumentalizing the tragedy as the country prepares to go to the polls for Bulgaria's eighth snap election in just five years. The election is expected to take place in April. Tragedy used as a political tool In the midst of all these claims and counterclaims, the parties in power have been using the case and the allegations to attack the opposition alliance PP-DB, noting that during its time in government, the Environment Ministry signed a non-binding memorandum with Kalushev's organization. "From an institutional point of view, this is a symbol of how such cases can be used for purposes other than those of a criminal proceeding, including for denigrating political opponents," Andrey Yankulov, a lawyer and legal expert at the Anti-Corruption Fund, told DW. Yankulov links public distrust in public authorities to many situations where the prosecution has made unjustified statements about cases that were never subsequently confirmed in the form of actual court convictions.Lawyer Andrey Yankulov says that he hopes 'the connection between institutions and society has not been broken'Image: BGNES It is widely believed that the lack of convictions is the result of political influence over prosecutors and judges in different cases over the past decade. As a result of the political attacks, critics say that the political debate has shifted away from key questions: Could the authorities have prevented the killings if they had investigated the reports on time? What was their relationship with the organization? And what are the motives behind the tragedy? "One thing is certain: The initial reactions of the acting chief prosecutor and the investigators facilitated the spread of conspiracy theories because they encouraged journalists and the public to read between the lines," Georgi Marchev, a media trainer and journalist, told DW. Can trust be rebuilt? According to Yankulov, himself a former prosector, restoring faith in the institutions will require personnel changes and improved efficiency. Bulgaria, alongside Hungary, ranks as the most corrupt state in the EU in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. "When institutional independence becomes a reality, the prerequisites may exist for society to trust what the institutions say," Yankulov told DW, adding that he hopes "the connection between institutions and society has not been broken." Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan