2 Bulgarian Security Chiefs Fired over Dogan Attack

Domestic | January 24, 2013, Thursday // 12:16|  views

Bulgaria's National Security Services Chief, Gen. Todor Kodzheykov. Photo by BGNES

Two employees of Bulgaria's National Security Services, NSO, were fired Thursday over the attack on the country's ethnic Turkish leader, Ahmed Dogan.

They are the Chiefs of the two NSO groups, Georgi Zanev and Georgi Raykov, which were sent to provide security for the event at the National Palace of Culture in the capital Sofia, but let the attacker reach all the way to Dogan.

The information was reported at a special press conference by NSO Chief, General Todor Kodzheykov.

He explained the two were in the avant-garde that controlled access to the guarded person and should not have allowed anyone come close to him.

"When an individual manages to gain access, all security guards must be notified immediately. The two officers failed to undertake adequate measures to secure the perimeter and the needed distance and to neutralize the assailant," said Kodzheykov.

According to NSO, the other security guards have acted adequately after the incident and have done everything possible to take away the attacker and to have the event continue as scheduled.

Kodzheykov will further inform the Consultative Council for National Security at the Office of the President about the sanctions.

Soon after the incident, President Rosen Plevneliev, announced he was calling the Council to examine security breaches on the part of NSO.

Last Saturday, police in Bulgaria detained a man after he pointed a gun at Dogan  as he was delivering a speech at the party conference in the capital Sofia. No shots were fired. The man was identified as Oktay Enimehmedov, a 25-year-old ethnic Turkish resident of the city of Burgas, with a previous criminal record for assault and theft.

Enimehmedov says he did not actually want to kill Dogan, but to scare him. The gun was established to have been a gas pistol, which cannot kill a person.

Sofia City Prosecutor, Nikolay Kokinov, announced Enimehmedov will be charged with grave hooliganism and death threat. The Sofia Regional Court ruled Tuesday to keep him under permanent detention.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian National Radio, BNRm quoted General Atanas Atanasov saying Thursday that Kodzheykov has met secretly with Dogan and Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, and they reached an under the table deal that Dogan will not voice publically any criticism of NSO and will not lodge claims against the Services.

Atanasov, who is a former NSO Chief, and is now municipal councilor from the right-wing party Democrats for Strong Bulgaria, DSB, of ex PM, Ivan Kostov, labeled the deal "outrageous."

He says the attack on Dogan is a grave failure of security officers and a fatal outcome had been prevented only because Enimehmedov did not have a true murder weapon.

"Instead of seriously analyzing the reasons for lack of professionalism in NSO, they meet secretly and decide to cover up the story," stated Atanasov.

The Bulgarian Pressa (Press) daily wrote Wednesday that it was unlikely for Plevneliev to ask for the resignation of Kodzheykov, and his Deputy, Kalin Ivanov, since this would lead to a confrontation with Borisov.

Kodzheykov is a former bodyguard of Borisov. He firmly denied Atanasov's claims.

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Tags: death threat, grave hooliganism, Oktay Enimehmedov, Movement for Rights and Freedoms, ethnic Turks, ethnic Turkish, assassination attempt, Ahmed Dogan, Consultative Council for National Security, Todor Kodzheykov, president, Rosen Plevneliev, Boyko Borisov, Prime Minister, Atanas Atanasov, general, DSB, gas pistol, Prosecutor, NSO, National Security Services, Nikolay Kokinov

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