The Plovdiv Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld the ruling of the Pazardzhik District Court to keep under arrest seven Bulgarian nationals accused of preaching radical Islam as there was risk they might commit other crimes.

There has been change to the lawyers of the defendants – the public defenders who appeared in Pazardzhik have been replaced with hired ones. Among them is Hari Haralampiev, who is to defend the imam Ahmed Musa Ahmed.

The prosecution revealed new details of the case.

Material evidence – photographs and items carrying the logo of Islamic State (IS) - have been supplemented with the testimony of protected witnesses.

According to the prosecutors, the testimony revealed the leadership role of Ahmed Musa, who allegedly coordinated the tasks of the other defendants.

Musa preached radical Islam in a private temple in Pazardzhik, in a rented private flat in Plovdiv and elsewhere, but also in the official temples of the Muslim religion in Bulgaria.

Only one of the defendants appeared in court on Thursday, the rest having signed requests not to attend in person.

Aleksandrina Angelova did not withstand the pressure and suffered a nervous breakdown, which interrupted the sitting and necessitated the call of medical help.

After a short interruption, she was taken away and the court session continued without her.

All defence attorneys requested lighter measures of juiciary control over their clients, but the court ruled that the defendants were to remain under arrest.

The defendants, who were arrested in last week's operation of the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and the prosecution, have been charged with propagating anti-democratic ideology and instigation of war.

The Pazardzhik District Court has admitted the second charge only for Ahmed Musa, which led to protest by the Pazardzhik District Prosecutor's Office.