Bulgarian national of Syrian descent detained for having terrorism links

A Bulgarian national of Syrian descent was arrested Wednesday for suspected terrorism in a raid conducted jointly by the State Agency for National Security and the Chief Directorate for Organized Crime Control.

The person in question was identified as 21-year-old Mohammed Abdulkader, his court-appointed defence lawyer Vesselina Vassileva told reporters in Wednesday, emerging from the building of the Regional Directorate of the Interior in Bourgas. Abdulkader was pressed charges in pursuance of Article 108 of the Penal Code.

Abdulkader is a graduate from the Sports School in Bourgas and is a national Greco-Roman wrestling champion. He told his lawyer that he has no links with terrorist organizations or structures, has not been engaged in anything illegal and has no idea why he was detained.

He suspects he was arrested due to a recently uploaded photo in his account in a social medium showing him holding an automatic rifle.

Abdulkader has visited his father in Syria several time, Vassileva said. He was detained for 72 hours and will be taken to the specialized court in Sofia.

Several people with whom Abdulkader had been in contact were questioned in the raid. These are mainly his peers and several youths from the wrestling club where he practised.

Earlier on Wednesday Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev told reporters that on Thursday the specialized prosecution office will give more information about a case regarding terrorism.

Geshev was approached to comment a raid in the seaside city of Bourgas where nearly 20 people were reported to have been detained for suspected terrorism.

Geshev said that the case concerned chapter one of the Penal Code and is about terrorism. “This is a sensitive topic and my colleagues in the specialized prosecution office will assess what and how much information will be given on the case through the mass media.

I am certain that information that will not interfere with the investigation will be given,” Geshev said.

Source: BTA