Ahmed Dogan

Ahmed Dogan Ахмед Доган
Chairman of DPS
In office 4 January 1990 – 19 January 2013
Personal details
Born	29 March 1954 Pchelarovo, Dobrich Province, Bulgaria
Political party	Movement for Rights and Freedoms

Ahmed Demir Dogan (Bulgarian: Ахмед Демир Доган; born 29 March 1954) is a Bulgarian politician of Turkish descent. He was chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) from 1990 to 2013.

Life and career

Dogan was born in Pchelarovo. In 1981 he completed his studies in philosophy at Sofia University and in 1986 earned the then equivalent of a doctoral degree after completing a dissertation on the theme of "Philosophical analysis of the principle of symmetry".^[1] He is the founder оf the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS),^[2] a liberal party that claims to represent the interests of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria.

In September 2007, Dogan's name was listed on an official report of communist-era secret police collaborators. According to the report, Dogan was a paid agent of the Committee for State Security from August 1974 until March 1988.^[3]

In October 2010, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) in Sofia acquitted Dogan of corruption in a case brought by the Parliamentary Commission regarding consulting fees paid in 2008 and 2009 in respect of hydro-power projects.^[4]

2013 attack

On 19 January 2013 as Dogan addressed a large audience from a podium, an assailant ran onto the stage and pointed a pistol within a foot of Dogan's head. The attacker used a gas pistol with blank cartridges but it failed to fire.^[5] According to many experts, even if the gun had fired it would have caused only non-lethal injuries.^[6] At this point, Dogan struck the arm of the assailant, pushing the arm holding the gun away and the assailant was tackled and wrestled to the ground by security guards and delegates, and he was beaten and kicked for several minutes before being arrested. The entire episode was captured on video. The assailant was identified as Oktay Enimehmedov, a Bulgarian national of Turkish descent.^[5][7] In February 2014, Enimehmedov received a sentence of 3 years and 6 months imprisonment.^[8]

References

1. Lilov 2013, p. 37.
2. Kostadinov, Peta (15 January 2010). "Signed and sealed". The Sofia Echo. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
3. "Решение №14". Комисия за разкриване на документите и за обявяване на принадлежност на български граждани към Държавна сигурност и разузнавателните служби на Българската народна армия. 4 September 2007.
4. "Bulgaria court acquits opposition leader in graft case". Reuters. Sofia. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
5. "Gas pistol pointed at Bulgaria party leader". Associated Press. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
6. Novinite.com: 3 blank cartridges, no magazine found in Dogan attacker's pistol, January 20, 2013.
7. "Bulgarian MRF leader, Ahmed Dogan, fights off gunman". BBC. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
8. http://www.standartnews.com/balgariya-pravosudie/dadoha_36_godini_zatvor_na_oktay_enimehmedov-227699.html

Bibliography

Lilov, Grigor (2013). Най-богатите българи (1st ed.). Sofia: „Кайлас” ЕООД. ISBN 978-954-92098-9-1.