Notorious Bulgaria Monument Builders Face New Legal Charges

The two brothers from the northeastern Bulgarian village of Slavyanov, Ali and Yuzeir Yuzerovi, are facing legal charges.

Ali Yuzeirov is charged with “gross hooliganism” over the construction of an illegal monument of the “unknown Turkish warrior” in the village of Slavyanovo, Targovishte District, Darik Radio reported.

His brother Yuzeir Yuzeirov is facing charges over the organization of a public demonstration which had been banned by the Mayor of Popovo Municipality, and over the creation and promotion of a political formation based on ethnic and religious differences. The two brothers will be interrogated on November 27.

The Yuzeirovi Brothers were first investigated on July 10, 2009, after they registered an association called “Bulgarian Red Crescent”. The Targovishte Prosecutor’s Office has moved to disband the association on the grounds that it violated international conventions under which one country can have only one organization called “Red Cross” or “Red Crescent”. The trial against the brothers over their association is under way.

One of the brothers, Yuzeir Yuzeirov, whose legal name is Rosen Yordanov, has been investigated over the purchase of large swaths of land by his firm with money whose origin is unclear.

The two brothers spurred public outrage after their build an illegal “monument of the unknown Turkish warrior” in October, after trying to register a political party called “Muslim Democratic Union” in September. The monument has been torn down by the authorities.