Prosecutor's Office in Southern Bulgaria Charges 13 with Preaching Radical Islam

The Pazardzhik District Prosecutor's Office has submitted an indictment against 13 people accused of preaching Salafism and seeking to impose Sharia law.

The suspects were also charged with leading and participating in the unregistered Bulgarian branch of the Saudi foundation Al Waqf-Al Islami, active on the territory of the districts of Smolyan, Blagoevgrad and Pazardzhik.

According to a media statement of the Pazardzhik District Prosecutor's Office published on Monday, the charges involve Art 108, para 1, Art 109 and Art 164 of the Penal Code for preaching an undemocratic ideology and seeking to impose Sharia law, for leading and participating in an unregistered religious entity preaching an undemocratic ideology and for preaching religious intolerance.

According to the indictment, the defendants built their belief systems in line with elements of Salafism, which they presented in Bulgaria in a radical version in the period March 2008 – October 6, 2010.

One of the defendants has a prior conviction on a similar charge for which he was handed a three-year suspended sentence with five years of probation and a public reprimand.

All defendants have been released on their own recognizance.

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