Stanislav Stamenov due in court for possible bail ruling

Bulgarian fugitive, wanted by Interpol, Stanislav Stamenov, is expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrates Court on Tuesday for a possible bail ruling.

His case was postponed last week for final arguments in his bid to be released, pending his extradition to Romania.

He’s wanted there to serve a 16-year prison sentence for drug trafficking.

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Stamenov was sentenced in absentia in 2009, with an Interpol red notice issued for his arrest in 2018.

He was arrested in Cape Town in February.

Stamenov had been living in South Africa for more than a decade.

His lawyer, William Booth, has challenged the legality of his arrest, arguing that it was unlawful because it was not based on a formal warrant issued by the South African government in terms of the country’s Extradition Act, but rather on an Interpol Red Notice.

The prosecution, however, argues that Stamenov’s South African residency, granted in 2019, was obtained fraudulently.

The State is opposing his release from custody, citing concerns that he poses a flight risk.