Bulgaria's Chief Cop Blasts Dogan's Attacker Thrashing

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, was in the Parliament Friday for a hearing on the attack against the country's ethnic Turkish leader. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, strongly condemned the actions of delegates of the ethnic Turkish party in thrashing the man who attacked their leader Ahmed Dogan with a gas pistol.

Speaking in the Parliament Friday, Tsvetanov stated the beating stirred large public outcry and informed that all tapes from the event have been seized and the prosecutor's office is now going to decide how to proceed further.

He called on everyone to act in a humanly manner, even when it comes to actions to stop a criminal.

"Such demonstration of force, the violence against Dogan's attacker is unacceptable. I strongly condemn his actions as well, but the violence is a demonstration of how Muslims who dare to differ from the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, are being treated," said Tsvetanov.

He also blamed both DPS and the private security company Kron for downplaying their duties in guarding Dogan during the Eight Annual Conference of the party last Saturday.

Members of the Parliament from DPS were quick to issue a declaration the attack was not grave hooliganism as Tsvetanov and the prosecutors maintain, but an attempt for political murder in the eve of the general election, aiming at removing the party from the political life of the country.

The attacker, identified as Oktay Enimehmedov, a 25-year-old ethnic Turkish resident of the city of Burgas, says he did not want to kill Dogan, but to scare him. He is being kept under permanent detention.

DPS MP, Hristo Biserov, asked in plenary hall why, if the above was true, the attacker had not only a gas pistol, but two knifes on him, and why he pointed the gun at Dogan's head and not at the body.

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