A man points a weapon at Ahmed Dogan, an ethnic Turkish party leader, during his speech in Sofia on January 19, 2013.
Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:53AM GMT
The ethnic Turkish party, whose leader escaped unscathed when a man pointed a gun at him earlier, says it wants police to find the “political mastermind” behind the attack.
On Sunday, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) also accused the police and the security forces of not protecting Ahmed Dogan, Reuters reported.
On Saturday, police arrested a man, who pointed a non-lethal gas pistol at Dogan as he was delivering a speech in a conference held in Sofia.
“The main goal of the investigation would be to focus on finding out who was the political mastermind of this attack,” Lyutvi Mestan, the MRF new leader, said at a press conference.
“The authorities are working on the lead that this was an individual action of a criminal…This is a huge stain on Bulgaria’s image,” he added.
Political parties in the European country condemned the attack against Dogan.
“This is an assault against the national security. I categorically reject any claims that the incident was staged,” said Sergei Stanishev, Bulgarian Socialist Party leader.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov also told reporters that “This is a very disturbing event and should not happen in today’s Bulgaria.”
Bulgarian deputy chief prosecutor Borislav Sarafov said the attacker faces up to five years in jail for hooliganism and up to six years for making a death threat.
On Saturday, police identified the attacker as Oktai Enimehmedov, a Bulgarian national and ethnic Turk, from the Black Sea town of Burgas.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvevtan Tsvetanov said at press conference that the attacker had a criminal record for drugs possession, robberies, and hooliganism.
The purpose of the conference was to elect a new leader for the MRF to succeed Dogan, who has been leading the party since its establishment in 1990.
The MRF mainly represents ethnic Turks and Muslims, who make up 12 percent of Bulgaria’s 7.3 million population.
Related articles
FUNNY master mind it was a message to the Gov. ya think?