A gunman reportedly attempted to
assassinate the leader of Bulgaria's
Turkish ethnic party during a televised
conference on Saturday. The leader of Bulgaria’s Movement for
Rights and Freedoms (MRF) party,
Ahmed Dogan, was assaulted by a gunman while on stage at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia,
according to the Sofia Globe. The
assailant, 25-year-old Oktai
Enimehmedov, climbed onstage and
held a gun to Dogan's head, but the
gun reportedly got stuck and was unable to shoot. SCROLL FOR PHOTO The Times also reports that the gun appeared to misfire, giving Dogan
enough time to bat away the gunman's arm before he
was assisted by security guards. Dogan and the gunman wrestled on
stage before security raced to apprehend
the assailant, amid loud boos from the
crowd, according to The Sun. Enimehmedov was also reportedly beaten by delegates and other officials in the crowd, according to Noinite, a
Sofia news agency. "He was not in a
good shape, there was blood on his
face," said Prosecutor Nikolay
Kokinov. "He told us his version about
what motivated him, but I will not discuss it at this point." Along with the gas pistol,
Enimehmedov was also armed with
two knives. The Bourgas native has
two prior convictions, including
causing bodily harm in 2006 and drug
possession in 2010, the Sofia Globe reports. As for the 58-year-old Turkish official,
he is doing fine. "Ahmed Dogan is in
good health. Everything is under
control," MRF official Ceyhan Ibryamov
told Reuters on Saturday. The liberal MRF party represents ethnic
Turks and Muslims, who make up
roughly 12 percent of Bulgaria's
population, according to Reuters.
Dogan is seen as one of the most
influential political figures. The conference was scheduled to elect a
new leader to succeed Dogan,
according to the Associated Press,
who is stepped down after nearly 25
years. Lyutvi Mestan, the man expected to
replace Dogan, told the AP "the true reason for the assault was the language of hatred and
confrontation." PHOTO: Image grab from video shows a man
identified as Oktai Enimehmedov, 25,
as he points a weapon at Ahmed
Dogan, left, leader of the Movement for
Rights and Freedoms, during his
speech at his party's congress in Sofia, on Saturday Jan. 19, 2013.
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Check the video here:
www.youtube.com/watch?client=mv-google&gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=HYrY2PS4qSs&fulldescription=1