Two fired after assault bid on Turk-Bulgarian

SOFIA – Anatolia News Agency

A still grab from a broadcast by Bulgarian television channel BTV handed out by BTV on 19 January 2013 shows an unidentified man (R) pointing a gun at Ahmet Dogan (C), leader of the MRF party of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria, during a party conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, 19 January 2013. EPA photo

Two security guards, accused of shirking their duty, were fired recently in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia after an assassination attempt was made on Ahmet Doğan, the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (HÖH).

The two National Service Organization (NSO) members, who were identified as Col. Georgi Zanev and Georgi Raykov, were found guilty of not being able to assure the security of Doğan, who was the target of similar attack attempts three separate times in the past.

However, Col. Ravkov denied the accusations and said he wasn’t responsible for this incident.

“We’ve demanded more security preventions before the meeting. But NSO rejected [our demand]. I will sue its managers who are the real responsible [parties] in this incident,” he said.

Meanwhile, Oktay Enimehmedov, the alleged attacker, said his intention was not to kill Doğan but to teach the HÖH a lesson. Enimehmedov criticized the HÖH as being totalitarian and dictatorial.

“I didn’t want to kill Doğan. I wanted to scare him. I wanted to be useful to society. The real threat is the administration of the party, not me.” he said.

Doğan was subjected to an armed assault attack Jan. 19 while on stage addressing delegates of his party. Enimehmedov leapt onto the stage and pointed a gun at Doğan’s head but was stopped before he could fire a shot.