The court case against 14 defendants charged with spreading the ideas of the Islamic State (IS) group and inciting jihad is to be launched on Thursday in Pazardzhik.

All the defendants are from Southern Bulgarian towns and cities and were apprehended in the Roma neighborhoods of Plovdiv, Pazardzhik, Smolyan, and Asenovgrad in specialized operations.

The prosecuting authority released a statement reading video footage and literature had been seized from their homes that propagated the ideas of Ilamic State.

The fourteen defendants allegedly tried to disseminate the radical messages on Facebook and incite hatred against not anyone not adhering to radical Islam.

Ahmed Musa Ahmed, a self-proclaimed imam not recognized as such by the Bulgarian Grand Mufti's Office, is thought to be the mastermind.

Separately, he was convicted last year in the so-called "imam trial".

His sentence, however, was appealed and therefore has not entered into force for more than six months.