US demands arrests & extradition of 5 Bulgarians over Syria sanctions breach

Bulgaria is requesting urgent consultations over the US request to arrest five of its nationals for allegedly violating US sanctions against Syria. Zhelyaz Andreev, 29, worked for a Bulgarian branch of the US-based AW-Tronics, a company that reportedly exported airplane parts to a sanctioned Syrian airline. Andreev was arrested last week, but a regional court ordered his release Wednesday pending an extradition hearing. Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said Thursday that Sofia received four more extradition requests but has not arrested anyone due to the Andreev ruling.