Bulgarian Ethnic Turkish Leader Accused of Incitement to Hatred by Attacker

Oktay Enimehmedov, the man who pointed a gun to the head of ethnic Turkish leader Ahmed Dogan, has accused the former leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party of inciting hatred between Bulgarians and Turks.

On January 19, police in Bulgaria detained a man after he pointed a gun at Ahmed Dogan, leader of the opposition ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms 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.

Enimehmedov was lynched by DPS delegates after the attack.

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 be deemed a murder weapon.

Enimehmedov is charged with grave hooliganism and death threat. Two instances of Sofia's Courts ruled to keep him under permanent detention.

"I am one of the many who trusted Dogan and felt disappointed by his policy. The recent examples of his incitement to hatred and panic between Bulgarians and Turks were an even clearer illustration of the fact that everything that is happening with DPS is entirely in the interest of one single person in his circle" Enimehmedov said in a letter read on air during the "Slavi Show" evening talk show of private TV station bTV.

In his letter, Enimehmedov voices his bewilderment at Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's expression of admiration for Dogan as a good politician.

Regarding the beating he suffered from DPS delegates after the attack, he says that it proved his expectations that they were "a bunch of cowards who trusted a snitch."

Enimehmedov goes on to say that if he were asked why he had not slapped Dogan in the face after the pistol misfired, he would respond that a real man must respect his adversary and not humiliate him in public.

Oktay Enimehmedov's letter reached the "Slavi Show" through his brother, Metin Enimehmedov, who won a dance contest organized by the talk show in 2007.

Metin Enimehmedov explained that his brother was not crazy but had most probably grown sick of it all.

He said that he had learned about the incident with his brother from the media and it had been the greatest shock in his life so far.

He said that he had visited his brother in prison, adding that Oktay Enimehmedov appeared calm, with a smile on his face, and had assured that the authorities were treating him well.