Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court (VAS) is to issue in a month a ruling in the conflict of interests case of Ahmed Dogan, leader of the opposition ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS).

A five-member VAS magistrate team convened Thursday over the appeal of the Parliamentary Anti-corruption Committee of the October 2010 ruling of a three-member VAS team declaring Dogan not guilty.

Prosecutor, Makedonka Popovska, insisted there was no way the DPS leader received BGN 1.5 M in consulting fees over his knowledge in hydro-engineering since he does not have any credentials in the subject, thus the fee was politically motivated and paid at the time when DPS was part of the cabinet.

Popovska further used as motive Dogan's pre-election statement from June 2009 in the village of Kochan where he declared to supporters he was the instrument of power distributing the finances in the country.

"This was a political statement, and was exaggerated as all political statements are. It cannot be used as evidence in Court. Currently such statements are made daily about how highways will be built in Bulgaria," defense attorney, Rumen Elenski countered.

More on the trial read HERE.

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