Bulgarian prosecutors file new ‘radical Islam’ lawsuit
Bulgaria’s prosecutor’s office said on July 2 that it has filed a lawsuit against 14 people, who were charged with promoting religious hatred and warmongering, only a day after an appellate court issued its ruling in a similar case.
One of the 14 people charge in the new lawsuit was Ahmed Musa Ahmed, who was handed a heavier sentence by the Plovdiv appellate court on July 1.
Ahmed and the other defendants were arrested in November 2014, following raids by the State Agency for National Security, police, gendamerie and prosecutors, which included searches at 40 different addresses. Of the 14 defendants, 12 were in custody and the other two had been granted bail, the prosecutor’s office said.
Ahmed was accused of promoting religious hatred through several actions, including translating and publishing printed materials, his preaching at the Abu Bekir mosque in Pazardjik, mujahedeen gestures and by displaying items with the Islamic State logo, the prosecutors said. Several other defendants were charged with aiding Ahmed in distributing printed materials, as well as displaying, storing or selling items with the Islamic State logo.
(Ahmed Musa Ahmed at the time of his arrest in November 2014. Screenshot from private broadcaster bTV)
