Police arrest Bat Yam man on international warrant for murder of Israeli in Bulgaria
Andrey Atanasov, 83, a biology professor at Sofia University, was found critically hurt, apparently bludgeoned with blunt object, in a metro station last month; he later died of his wounds
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A resident of the central Israeli city of Bat Yam was arrested on Friday on suspicion of beating an Israeli biology professor to death last month in Sofia, Israel Police said.
Andrey Atanasov, 83, an associate professor of biology at Sofia University, was found critically injured in an elevator inside the Joliot Curie metro station in Sofia on October 15, according to local media reports. He was rushed to the hospital but died of his wounds several hours later.
Bulgarian media reported that the suspect fled the scene in a rental car and left the country before police could detain him.
He was later identified through footage from nearby security cameras.
Police said in a statement that the suspect, a 32-year-old resident of Bat Yam, was arrested by officers from the Tel Aviv district, pursuant to an international arrest warrant.
He was investigated by state prosecutors in cooperation with Bulgarian police, the statement said, and is expected to be extradited to Bulgaria following a court hearing.
The November 13 arrest of a 32-year-old Bat Yam resident suspected of murdering Bulgarian biology professor Andrey Atanasov in Sofia on October 15, 2026. (Israel Police)
Citing sources within the Bulgarian interior ministry, local media previously reported that Atanasov and the suspect had known each other for years, and that the attack against the elderly biology professor occurred following a “personal conflict.”
The same report assessed that, based on the severity of the head injuries inflicted on Atanasov, he was bludgeoned with a blunt object. It said that the cause of death was listed as profound blood loss, but as of October 17, no forensic report had been published.
Atanasov was a longtime lecturer at the University of Sofia’s Department of Biophysics and Radiology, having joined at its inception in 1972, according to local press. He studied proteins and biological membranes and conducted research in Germany and Japan, as well as in Bulgaria.
The Times of Israel Community.