Martin Varadinov, an officer of Bulgaria's National Protection Service, will stay free on a signed pledge not to leave, the Military Court of Appeal has ruled. He is charged with causing bodily harm to journalist Sonya Koltukliyeva. The three-judge panel's ruling is final.

Varadinov may not leave Sofia without permission from investigators.

The previous development: Military appeals court to decide whether National Protection Service officer stays in jail

The incident happened on the afternoon of 22 October on Hristo Botev Boulevard in Sofia, near the car of the speaker of parliament. The Military District Prosecutor's Office in Sofia held Varadinov for up to 72 hours. A week earlier, the Sofia Military Court freed him without imposing any measure. That court said he was carrying out his duties and the evidence did not show the injury came from a blow by him. Prosecutors asked for him to be held in custody and appealed.

The Military Court of Appeal says the pre-trial investigation has only just begun. It says the charge is provisional and may be changed, including by a new legal classification. The panel says there is no risk that Varadinov will go into hiding or commit a crime. It says the evidence gathered is enough for the suspicion against him to stand.

Lawyer Tervel Georgiev, who defends Varadinov, said he is not happy with the ruling in legal terms. In practice, though, he is delighted, because he believes the outcome could have been much worse given the media narrative of the past 5–6 days. He sees no fault in his client's conduct in the incident involving the speaker of parliament and Koltukliyeva.

Georgiev said the defence was shown the order charging Varadinov at around 16:00 on 23 October. The order for the 72-hour detention was handed over at 16:30. Fifteen minutes later, a request to hold him was filed in court. The deadline ran out on Monday, 26 October.

"You all know that prosecutors don't do it this way," Georgiev said, linking their actions to the elections. "Well, the elections were on Sunday, and the 72 hours ran out on Monday," he said. Asked whether the decision had to be taken before the elections, he said yes.