site.btaBulgarian National of Syrian Descent Detained for Suspected Terrorism in Raid in Seaside City of Bourgas

Bourgas, on the Black Sea, July 1 (BTA) - 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.
NV/ZH