Bulgarian Court Postpones Case against Notorious Muslim Brothers

The notorious Ali Yuzeirov walked out of the Shumen hotel wearing a red Turkish fez on the day he attempted to found the Muslim party OTOMAN, but has been asked by the police to remove it. Photo by BGNES

The case against the two notorious Bulgarian Muslim brothers, Ali and Yuzeir Yuzeirov, has been postponed for June 9, the magistrates from the Regional Court in the northeastern town of Popovo ruled Wednesday.

Both brothers were in the courtroom, along with 20 witnesses, but the trial was postponed on their request. Yuzeirov asked for a State-appointed attorney and for a “speedy trial” procedure. They further declared they are not contesting any witness testimony.

Yuzeir Yuzeirov also requested an interpreter with the explanation he does not speak Bulgarian, but the Court rejected it.

The brothers face charges on 3 counts – organizing a religious party, conducting a meeting banned by the Mayor of Popovo, and gross hooliganism when building the Monument of the Unknown Turkish Soldier in the village of Slavyanovo.

In the beginning of April, Yuzeirov's attempt to found a Muslim party OTOMAN in the city of Shumen failed because they were unable to gather the needed 500 supporters. Ali Yuzeirov complained at the time that many buses and followers on foot were on their way but could not arrive to the meeting because they were stopped by the police.

The abbreviation OTOMAN stands for “Union for Tolerance, Responsibility, Moral, and Alternative Progress.” Yet the party's name bears uncanny connotation to the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria's bitter past under Turkish dominion.

Yuzeirov insist that OTOMAN’s main goal is to promote religious and ethnic tolerance. Their similar initiatives in the summer and fall of 2009 have been slammed by many commentators as attempts to stir ethnic and religious tension and a test to the stability of the Bulgarian democracy and of the cabinet "Borisov."

In the fall of 2009, the two brothers erected a monument of the Unknown Turkish/Muslim Soldier near Targovishte, which was torn down by the authorities after court action.

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