Palestinian's Death in Sofia: Prosection 'Rules Out' Murder

Crime | March 21, 2016, Monday // 20:40
Bulgaria: Palestinian's Death in Sofia: Prosection 'Rules Out' Murder File photo, BGNES

Bulgarian Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov on Monday dismissed suggestions that Omar Zayed, a Palestinian man whose dead body was found in front of the Palestinian Embassy in Sofia, might have been murdered.

He told reporters that the post-mortem examination of Zayed's body had shown no signs of violence.

Instead, the man fell off a balcony on the third floor of the Embassy and it was that incident that cause his death, Tsatsarov explained.

"As of the moment we don't think it was a murder," the prosecutor added.

In his words, Sofia City Prosecutor Hristo Dinev had already met the Palestinian commission which arrived in Bulgaria to look into the incident.

Bulgarian authorities had earlier said they would work jointly with the commission, but then emphasized it could not take part in the investigation as it did not include either prosecutors or investigators.

Omar Nayif Zayed, 52, was found by Palestinian embassy staff lying in the embassy garden covered in blood on February 26.

On 15 December 2015, Israel made a formal request for the extradition of Omar Zayed who had been sentenced to life in prison by a Jerusalem court in 1986 for the murder of an Israeli student. Two days later Omar Zayed had reportedly sought protection at the Palestinian embassy in Sofia.

Protests were held in front of the Palestinian Embassy last week, calling on investigators to announce what had caused Zayed's death.

They claim Israel might have been behind the incident. The latter position has been voiced by Palestinian groups, but never endorsed by officials of the Palestinian authority.

Some Palestinians in Bulgaria blame their ambassador for failing to provide the security needed.

A number of experts had dismissed the hypothesis of an incident as "the least plausible" version.

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Tags: Omar Zayed, Palestinian Authority, Palestine, Palestinian Embassy, Sotir Tsatsarov, Israel

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