Bulgarian Movement for Rights and Freedoms party leader Ahmed Dogan (L) is attacked by a man carrying a hand gun at the party congress in Sofia, 19 January 2013. Kanal 3 TV grab/BGNES
Bulgaria's ruling centrist-right GERB party has condemned Saturday's armed assault against Ahmed Dogan, leader of the oppositional Movement for Rights and Freedoms party. '
Police in Bulgaria detained a man after he pointed a gun at Dogan as he was delivering a speech in the capital Sofia. No shots were fired. The man was identified as Oktay Enimemehmedov, a 25-year-old ethnic Turkish resident of the city of Burgas, with a previous criminal record for assault and theft.
"For GERB's parliamentary group, an assault against any politician constitutes a threat against democracy in the country," an official statement said on Saturday.
"Such actions are completely unacceptable and undemocratic, especially during a political forum," the statement said, adding that GERB condemns any lawmaker or any Bulgarian citizen, for that matter.
GERB members have expressed their hope that authorities will investigate the accident as quickly as possible.
Ahmed Dogan, founder and leader of the Bulgarian ethnic Turkish party DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms), resigned his post as party chairman four hours after an attempt was made on his life.