Two weeks ago US Ambassador Angela Aggeler sent a letter to the key judicial and government institutions, expressing her concern that a number of high profile cases were draggd out by the Appeals Court in Skopje.

The letter was leaked, and it does not include specific cases, but it is widely assumed that the Ambassador is referring to cases against officials from the former government, especially former security chief Saso Mijalkov. Mijalkov cooperated with the Zaev regime in the imposed name change – a process the US strongly supported – and has seen a number of cases against him dragged out to the point of reaching statue of limitations. He even tried to flee the country, but was forced to return.

According to the letter, the Embassy warns that the decisions by the Appeals and by basic courts are undermining the already very low level of public trust in the judiciary.

The revelation of the letter prompted a meeting of the Appeals Court in Skopje, as well as the heads of the basic courts in the capital. The Appeals Court issued a statement saying that the judges decided to act efficiently and diligently on cases of high public interest and to achieve effective implementation of justice.

Ambassador Aggeler began her tenure with a very public warning that former and current Government officials will be put on US blacklists. But nothing happened in this regard, and the Embassy seems more pressed with the need to secure votes in Parliament for the latest round of Bulgarian demands – a process where people like Mijalkov may prove to be useful again. The Embassy is also under pressure to explain its role in the growing Bechtel scandal, after the US construction giant landed a no-bid highway contract worth at least 1.3 billion USD, that includes a number of suspicious provisions.