site.btaActivists Allegedly Evicted from MRF Founder Dogan’s Residence by Police Intervention

Activists from the youth wing of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) claim they were forcibly removed by police from the residence of Ahmed Dogan, founder and former honorary chair of the party, in the Boyana district of Sofia on Saturday. In a video posted on a Facebook page titled "MRF Press Centre", Valentin Tonchev, a former MP loyal to Dogan, told reporters that they had been invited by Dogan to the property to hold a National Council meeting of MRF’s youth wing.

"When we entered Mr. Dogan's home, completely unimpeded, where he personally invited us, we saw that everything had been stolen, broken, and ransacked. We immediately called the police to come and document what had been stolen, destroyed, and damaged, but to our surprise, we were met with a group of around 400 police officers and gendarmes who arrived at the house and began pushing us out, telling us: 'Get out of the building. We received an anonymous tip on 112 from someone claiming to be the property owner, saying you unlawfully entered the property,'" Tonchev explained.

He added that Dogan showed the police his ID card to prove his permanent address and that this was his residence, and that there was no reason for him to leave the property.

"We are currently waiting to determine who the person who made the tip-off is, and who the alleged property owner is, as there is no legal or valid reason for Mr. Dogan to leave his residence," Tonchev added. "The only thing that needs to happen is for a specialized team to come and start documenting everything that has been stolen and destroyed on the property," he argued.

According to Tonchev, this house has long been the location where the MRF holds meetings and conducts all key activities, including nominations for mayors, members of parliament, and general party life.

There is increased police presence around the property.

Lyubomir Nikolov, Head of Sofia's Interior Ministry Regional Directorate, told reporters that police had received a tip-off about a break-in at a house in the Boyana district of Sofia.

"Twenty minutes later, we received another tip from a different person who reported that there was an act of self-management taking place, with unknown individuals having broken the front door and unlawfully entered the property," Nikolov explained and added that the police officers found 60 people in front of the property and 35 people inside.

On March 21, 2025, the Sofia Administrative Court Friday announced rejecting a petition by Ahmed Dogan against a decision of the National Patent Office, which rejected Dogan's claim on the MRF trademarks. The court decision is appealable at the Supreme Administrative Court.

In August 2024, the Patent Office received an application by Dogan for the transfer to himself alone the rights to use several trademarks related to MRF. On October 18, 2024 the Patent Office refused to do the transfer. It was a major stage in a feud between Dogan and Delyan Peevski, Dogan's one-time right-hand man and MRF co-chair, who now leads his own parliamentary group, MRF - New Beginning, that grew out of one of the two rival MRF factions.

Peevski and his supporters were expelled from the MRF on August 27, 2024. Peevski dismissed the decision as "contrary to the Statute". In turn, Peevski's faction, which calls itself MRF – New Beginning, expelled Dogan and his faithful from the party on November 16, 2024.