Bat Yam man, 32, arrested over killing of professor, 83, in Sofia metro

A 32-year-old resident of Bat Yam has been arrested in Israel on suspicion of involvement in the killing of an Israeli man in Bulgaria, Israeli outlets reported on Friday. N12 reported that the arrest was made under an international warrant, and the Israel Police spokesperson's office released a photograph of it.

Ynet, citing reports in Bulgaria, identified the victim as Professor Andrei Atanasov, 83, whom it described as a respected lecturer at Sofia University. According to Ynet, he was severely beaten and later died of his injuries in hospital. N12 reported that the suspect is believed to have beaten the professor to death in an elevator at a metro station in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital. The arrest came roughly a month after the attack, Ynet said.

What Israeli police say happened

A statement carried by News.co.il said an Israeli citizen who was staying in Bulgaria was murdered there on 14 October. Once suspicion arose that an Israeli citizen living in Bat Yam was involved, officers from the Ayalon unit of the police Tel Aviv District began an investigation to gather evidence and to detain him.

That work was carried out together with the international department of the State Attorney's Office and with Bulgarian police, according to the statement. As part of it, a provisional arrest warrant was issued with a view to extraditing the suspect. Police said he was expected to appear in court as part of proceedings to hand him over to law enforcement authorities in Bulgaria.

The police statement as reported does not name the suspect or the victim, and does not describe how the killing took place. Those details come from Ynet and N12, which attribute them to reporting in Bulgaria.

The bodies involved

The State Attorney's Office is Israel's national prosecution service, part of the Justice Ministry. Its international department handles cross-border legal matters, including requests to send suspects to stand trial in other countries and requests for assistance from foreign police forces. Its involvement here indicates the case is being handled as a formal extradition matter rather than a domestic prosecution.

The Tel Aviv District is one of the regional commands of the Israel Police, and Ayalon is one of its subdivisions covering cities in the greater Tel Aviv area. Bat Yam, where the suspect lives, is a coastal city immediately south of Tel Aviv and Jaffa.

A provisional arrest warrant in this context allows a suspect to be held while a formal extradition process runs its course. In Israel, extradition is decided through the courts, which is why police said the suspect would be brought before a judge rather than handed over directly.

Where the reports differ

The accounts are consistent on the basic facts: a man from Bat Yam, aged 32, was detained in Israel over a killing in Bulgaria, and Israeli and Bulgarian authorities worked together on the case. They differ in emphasis and certainty.

• Police, as quoted by News.co.il, describe the victim as an Israeli citizen who was staying in Bulgaria. Ynet describes him as an Israeli professor who lectured at Sofia University. The reports do not explain his connection to both countries.
• The police statement and most headlines speak of suspected involvement in the murder. A later N12 item, attributed to a report, states more specifically that the suspect is suspected of beating the professor to death.
• A Ynet alert said the suspect will be extradited. The police statement says only that he is expected in court as part of extradition proceedings, which implies no court decision has yet been made.

Ynet described the use of an international warrant to arrest the suspect as unusual.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports names the suspect or gives any account of a motive or of any relationship between him and the victim. It is not stated whether the suspect was in Bulgaria at the time of the attack and when he returned to Israel, or what evidence links him to the killing. No response from the suspect or a lawyer acting for him has been reported, nor any statement from Bulgarian authorities directly. The date of the court hearing and the outcome of the extradition proceedings are not yet known.