Bulgaria Ethnic Turkish Party Cries Political Witch Hunt

Luytvi Mestan (middle) and Hasan Azis (r) during the Tuesday ethnic Turkish party leadership meeting in Sofia. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's executive power, represented by the police and regional governors, is carrying out politically-bound probes in local municipalities, the ethnic Turkish party DPS declares.

The statement was made Tuesday by the Mayor of the southern city of Kardzhali, Hasan Azis, who spoke after the conclusion of the party's leadership meeting in Sofia.

Azis, who was recently charged by the Prosecutor's office with committing fraud with municipal property, pointed out that out of 600 probes, 550 are conducted in municipalities led by the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) while no probe is going on against the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party.

Azis, a member of the DPS Central Council, said the police, followed by GERB governors and deputy governors, are carrying out the probes and taking away the authority of the judicial system.

Some public tenders have been probed 13 times and a total of 108 such probes are being conducted in the Kardzhali municipality, Azis informed.

DPS presented a signatures' list against the actions of the police, aiming at manipulating the public opinion and creating a presumption of guilt.

Deputy DPS Chair, Lyutvi Mestan, declared the party's leaders are not afraid of the probes because they are not criminals or corrupt individuals.

Mestan offered an example of a GERB deputy governor entering a classroom in the town Velingrad, checking the principal before the students, with the goal to tarnish the latter's image and later fire him, only because the said principal is known for his ties with DPS, according to Mestan.

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