Bulgarian court jails man for trying to set fire to Plovdiv mosque
The Plovdiv District Court sentenced Viktor Alexandrov to a year in jail for trying to set fire to the Bulgarian city’s landmark historic Dzhumaya mosque on January 5.
The sentence was handed down on April 27 after fast-track proceedings permitted by criminal procedural law.
Alexandrov pleaded guilty, telling the court that he had been drunk and did not remember the act, but regretted it.
The trial was held without hearing witnesses or experts.
On the night of January 5 2015, Alexandrov splashed the windows of the mosque with nearly three litres of petrol and set it on fire before fleeing. The fire was extinguished by a security guard.
Alexandrov was arrested after stealing petrol from a fuel station, having intended to make a second attempt at setting the mosque on fire.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
