Lyutvi Mestan, who was expelled as leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party this week, said Saturday he couldn't accept the way he was removed.

The decision to dismiss Mestan, also expelling him from the party, was announced after an extraordinary party meeting on Wednesday, days after DPS honorary chair Ahmed Dogan accused him of supporting Turkey in its dispute with Russia over the downed fighter bomber at the border with Syria.

He added the party's move was not widely supported by "representatives" of the DPS, later referring to them as people he meets.

"The decision is a fact and I accept it, but do not accept either the way it was taken nor the main motive to expel me from the party... The thesis most often voiced by people I meet is that even those sentenced to death have the right to their last word," Focus News Agency quotes him as saying.

Attending a commemorative ceremony on the anniversary of tragic events in the village of Mogilyanе, Southern Bulgaria, he denied allegations that his statement about the downed Russian plane, strongly condemning Russia for violating Turkish airspace, had been handed out to him by another country, explaining he had authored it with ideas from some other members from the parliamentary group.

"We cannot stay as a neutral observer between Russia and NATO. Bulgaria should seek balances being aware of its status as a NATO member."

In his words, he would have adopted the statement even if he had known what his political future would be afterwards.

According to daily Standart, he dismissed recent reports that he was "hiding" at the Turkish Embassy, adding he had spent there only a few hours in the last several days.

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