— EPISODE 2
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Between 2017 and 2020 – the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office conducted anti-terrorist actions left in the fog of obscure events and statements. The media covered the official position of the prosecutor’s office without asking important questions about the nature of the operations. Soon the interest faded while the lives of a dozen people changed forever. To date, none of these people have been found guilty of belonging to groups linked to Islamic extremism. In fact, according to one of our sources in the Bulgarian police, these operations conducted through “secret witnesses” “serve to make themselves look good in front of international partners.” After all, these detentions are also financed by EU money. (Versione italiana)
The information is based on data from sources that will remain anonymous at their request.
Have you heard about the noisy police operation in which 43 people accused of sponsoring terrorist groups were arrested in Bulgaria? If you are not from Bulgaria or do not follow news from the region, you would hardly know. For a few days in January 2019, this was the main topic in the local media, and very soon after that, it faded into oblivion. As happened in previous operations of the Bulgarian authorities and the prosecutor’s office against “terrorists”. Between 2017 and 2020, the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office conducted anti-terrorist actions left in the fog of obscure events and statements. The authorities do not want to talk about these actions and do not clarify whether the dozens of arrests are due to real intelligence or are a result of a corrupt system, failures in intelligence agencies, and exploitation.
The watchdog of Fortress Europe, ignored by the European media
The Balkans rarely enter the global news stream, and if that happens, it is in the context of greater geopolitical rivalries and processes. In general, even in Europe, readers and auditory can hardly tell what happened last in Southeast Europe. The exception is Greece—because of the financial downfall—and probably Serbia due to its historical and political burden. In fact, the Balkans most often evoke associations with the Yugoslav wars and events in Bosnia. After the 1990s, however, this foreign interest declined if we do not count the European nationalist groups, which have an unhealthy interest in the history of the break-up of Yugoslavia and the opposition between Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks. Where is Bulgaria in the whole conversation? Sofia stays out of the broader debate on the Balkans, often with interest in the Western Balkans and the territories of the former Yugoslavia. The situation changed during the sporadic protests in the country between 2013 and 2020 and the troubles surrounding Sofia’s position on North Macedonia, as foreign media paid attention to the situation in Bulgaria and how the EU could intervene. Although there has been progress in the decades since the 1990s, institutions in Bulgaria—especially the justice system—continue to suffer from corruption and lobbying. Several governments during this period, dominated by Boyko Borissov’s party, GERB, carried out reforms, but limited and insufficient, which provoked criticism from the EU.
The refugee crisis caused by the massive military offensives in Syria and the repressions of Bashar al-Assad’s regime creates a new situation for the EU states. Those fleeing the war are trying to reach the European coast via the Mediterranean or by land along the Turkey-Bulgaria and Turkey-Greece borders. European governments were unprepared, while the strongest refugee wave hit the peripheral countries, including Bulgaria.
The lack of adequate policies on the new challenges has led to an increase in populism and nationalism. In Sofia, with promises to “deal with the migrant invasion”, extreme nationalist factions have become part of the government. Similar processes unfolded in many European countries, which were already in internal crises at the time of the refugee wave of 2015-2016. But the situation in Southeast Europe is particularly telling. Local governments are using the circumstances to show that they are loyal partners so that Brussels can stop the criticism. Border protection is proving to be not only a political opportunity but also a financial one, with border police forces being strengthened thanks to the EU funds.
Against this tense atmosphere, the fight against terrorism also comes to the fore, with terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels raising anti-immigrant sentiments, which political elites do not always try to counter. On the contrary, they prove to be an excellent opportunity to strengthen electoral attitudes. And while there is a real danger of radicalism and terrorism, the threat is not the same in every country. In Bulgaria, where this possibility is significantly lower than in France, dozens of people have been arrested on charges related to terrorist activities without any credible intelligence information provided. The events in Sofia are indicative and show why it is necessary to focus more often on the region. In one of the busiest episodes, 43 people were arrested in early 2019. Nothing significant as information came out of the country’s prosecutor office, while five remain in custody afterward. The media covered the official position of the prosecutor’s office without asking important questions about the nature of the operations. In a few days, interest fades while the lives of a dozen people are changed forever.
Are you Syrian and sell cars for a living? That’s enough to put you in jail
Even the little shown so far is insufficient and dubious as an argument for a serious anti-terrorist operation. As in this case, as in previous such arrests, transparency is not part of the prosecution’s work. We can make a comparison with the claims against the perpetrators of the attacks in Brussels and Paris and the arrests in other parts of Europe where the police have always preferred to show as much as possible details in time so as not to provoke speculations. In Bulgarian cases, such actions do not exist, because it is probably not about operations against terrorism. Of the five people shown on television, one is Kurdish, and the other is Syrian with opposition views. They are also Bulgarian citizens. Both enjoy a good reputation among their communities, have been living in Bulgaria for a long time, and have not had any criminal records in the past. It is not clear from the official information which groups the detainees sponsored, in which countries, etc. We met the families of some of the people arrested and asked them to share further details on the cases; they refused to do so, fearing possible backlashes from the authorities.
Most of those arrested were released within 24 hours. Five people remained in custody, with a sixth wanted since the arrests were announced. This sixth man is of Syrian descent, as the other ones, and was in Turkey at the time. However, he returned to Bulgaria voluntarily and informed the police that he would meet with law enforcement if necessary. The local media did not report this part of the story at all. I recall again that the detainees were dubbed as “sponsors of terrorism” and almost connected with Al Qaeda. According to inside sources in the Bulgarian intelligence agencies, the others in custody were involved in car sales in Syria—which led to the accusations. Let us recall that the sale of cars is not an illegal activity itself. Still, it attracted both media and authorities’ attention after the outbreak of the civil war in the country. For nearly four years, there has been a strong network of car dealers selling old cars from Bulgaria through Turkey to Syria. Some of these cars have become known for being used in attacks on groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
“We know that two of them [the detainees, Author’s note] have been charged with selling cars,” said T.H., a source in one of the security agencies linked to the police. “It’s thin ice—you could fall into the water if you step wrong, but we all know that this trade has been going on for years.” In reality, dealers have no idea to whom they are selling the car. When they buy it, it is taken over from the border, and through intermediaries, it can get into the hands of many. Not only Syrians but also many Bulgarians are involved in the car sale scheme. At the same time, no Bulgarians have been arrested so far – at least, none who did not belong to the Roma community or who were not of foreign origin – despite the thousands of cars sold in Syria. For four years, trade has been in full swing without government intervention. What then led to the arrests in early 2019? According to the information from a contact in police, this is a fake play, applied two years earlier in a similar arrest and is related to the purge of “disobedient” informants by the main Bulgarian intelligence service, State Agency for National Security. The case of the so-called “Islamic State commander” who was loudly arrested in Sofia in 2017 and then quietly released from custody eight months after his arrest is indicative. The detainee later filed a lawsuit against the country regarding the entire operation and his arrest in front of his family. The media had no interest in the case except for the spicy part of the story, said our police source.
First recruited by extortion, then “eliminated” for being inconvenient
At the end of 2017, the Bulgarian authorities announced the break-up of a group dealing with terrorism. The case gained international popularity, but no further details were available. It later became clear that it was not a group attacked by the police, but a Syrian man with Bulgarian citizenship, who returned to Syria in 2013 and, according to the accusations, became part of the Islamic State. Subsequently, the prosecutor’s office added, he also took on “leading” functions in the group. Interestingly, the “ISIS commander” in question is a hookah tobacco trader, and his business is no secret. His release – eight months later – was not covered by the media. The logical question is, why a person allegedly associated with Islamic State is released within such a short period? According to M.E., a contact in one of the intelligence agencies in Sofia, the answer is that it has nothing to do with Islamic State.
Moreover, according to the same source, the Syrian man, called Ahmed, was sent to Jarablus, Syria by the State Agency for National Security for an operation that turned out to be a failure. His problems come after a dispute with the agent who oversaw him. The Syrian man, indeed, has allegedly started to share with friends about the operation. “The one who was arrested was a DANS (State Agency for National Security) informant—we all knew that,” said M.E. “The problem was that he talked a lot.”
At that time, the security services in Bulgaria used the local Arab community for such tasks in exchange for services—most often for easier access to documents and freedom to operate a business. It is a public secret that several Arab shops in Sofia exist against a “percentage” demanded by corrupt members of the security forces. This practice is related to the problem of issuing documents to people from the Middle East. Officially, anyone who meets the essential criteria for acquiring citizenship can obtain documents. Unofficially, things are very different. Authorities can expel anyone they choose, and according to a source in the State Agency for Refugees at the Council of Ministers, the Bulgarian authorities deliberately refuse to accept documents of Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans. Why such domestic provisions exist is not clear, but it is probably related to policies to limit the flow of migrants to Bulgaria. Representatives of the Arab community say that the Interior Ministry wants additional money so that an ID card can be issued, although this is not required by law. Often the price includes becoming a whistleblower. In this way, both the police and the security services create a vast network of affiliated people who not only monitor the respective communities but also control the business.
In Bulgaria, the anti-terrorist legislation is at an initial level and was created quickly against the background of the attacks in Paris and Brussels. Under this law, a person accused of terrorism can stay in specialized custody for eight months without trial. This stay can be extended for another eight months at the discretion of the authorities. For this activity, the special police and authorities in the courts receive additional funding both from the Bulgarian state and the EU. The court refused to hear the cases against the detainees due to insufficient evidence; however, the prosecution did not describe this in public information.
Hawala, the ancient Arab tradition targeted by anti-terrorism hounds
Let’s go back to the arrests from January 2019. As in the case of the arrested “Islamic State commander” in 2017, numerous analyzes appeared on television about what happened and who is interested. The level of many security experts is problematic, given the fact that some of the speakers could not even pronounce the word hawala—the ancient Middle eastern system that detainees use to transfer money and for what they were accused of financing terrorist groups. At that time, a number of reports appeared, and the Bulgarian public learned this strange word for the first time. The word hawala became known to outside observers and analysts only in recent decades, with the rise of al Qaeda and then the Islamic State. In reality, however, it is a centuries-old tradition. The system allows money transfer but without the traces of actual bank transfers. The latter is also the main reason why terrorist organizations use the hawala. The system is part of everyday life for many people in the Middle East, not only in the past but also today; anyone who has traveled in this region of the world encountered it at one time or another. The system has existed since the 8th century between Arab and Muslim traders traveling the Silk Road; nowadays, it is still one of the most common methods for the local population from Africa to Southeast Asia to transfer money to relatives, business partners, or for personal use. For example, according to the US Treasury Department and the Pakistani administration, the funds entering Pakistan through the hawala are estimated at nearly $ 7 billion each year. According to a 2015 State Department report, in Afghanistan, about 90% of financial transactions are powered by hawala networks.
In recent years, the Bulgarian public has heard several times about such “anti-terrorist” operations under the supervision of the State Security Agency and the Prosecutor General offices. How many of these actions are directed against people who are a real threat and are proven members of radical groups? So far—none. The outcome always remains in the shadows, as do the real reasons for the arrests. T.H., the source in the police forces, offers a possible explanation: “Sometimes we need to make ourselves look good in front of [our European] partners, especially when there is an internal problem. Does that sound cynical? That’s the way it is.” The last time the prosecutor’s office said that an “Islamic State commander” had been detained during an operation, it turned out that DANS had purged informants they were not happy with. The topic of these ostentatious actions is deeply connected with the above-described corrupt policy of giving documents against the obligation of becoming informers or a percentage of the business. In the name of these documents, many are ready to stalk their friends and colleagues, and when they become unnecessary, they are purged with such actions. One of the sources who shared some of the information used for this text—and who is working the State Agency for Refugees and the police—was very clear: “If you are an Arab or you come from the Middle East – you are in our hands. We can kick you out whenever we want, but we don’t because you can be useful. If you trade in cars, you are an ideal target for us. How do we know that you are not selling to jihadists? You don’t really have to do it—it’s important what it looks like.”
Prosecuted for some photos he posted on Facebook: the case of the wrestler champion Mohammed Abdulqader
It seems that this logic repeated in the last such case from July 2020. On July 1, at 6 a.m., masked officers from the Bulgarian National Security Agency broke into the small apartment where Anelia Petrova and her son Mohammed Abdulqader were staying in the Bulgarian port city of Burgas. After a thorough search, they confiscated all mobile phones and laptops and took all residents—Petrova, her son, her sister, and her family—into custody. All were later released, except for 21-year-old Abdulqader, who was arrested on terrorism charges. The specialized prosecutor’s office said that Abdulqader, a Bulgarian citizen born to a Bulgarian mother and a Syrian father, had participated in “terrorist activities” in Syria. As evidence, prosecutors cited numerous photos from Syria that Abdulqader posted on social media and his father’s membership in the Sultan Murad Division’s armed group in Syria. The group was part of the Free Syrian Army, supported by the Friends of Syria International Coalition, of which Bulgaria was a part. No more evidence was provided, and the life of a promising athlete was shattered (Abdulqader is a wrestler, a three-time winner of the national youth championship of Bulgaria).
Mohamed Abdulqader is a three-time winner in the National wrestling championship in Bulgaria [source: Instagram]. 
Some photos of Mohamed Abdulqader in Syria, which were shared by the Prosecutor’s office
Abdulqader was the first person tried in Bulgaria for “terrorist activity abroad” under Law 108A of the Bulgarian Penal Code. Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev told the media that Abdulqader was “recruited by his father, who is the leader of a terrorist organization.” Meanwhile, various experts have speculated on Bulgarian television that Abdulqader and his father are involved in the ISIS armed group activities. However, one of the four photos published by the prosecution shows only the Sultan Murad division’s red flag. Although Bulgaria is close to Syria and has a significant Muslim community, which makes up more than 10 percent of the population (the highest percentage in an EU member state), it has not seen a large number of its citizens travel to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS or other armed groups. Bulgaria also, unlike other regions in the Balkans, has no history of Islamist activity. Al Jazeera’s material in this case clearly shows that the accusations cannot be considered substantiated by serious evidence and are based on the words of a “secret witness” – a practice known in other similar actions of the prosecutor’s office.
The cases in question are no longer part of the news flow. Bulgaria has experienced internal crises and protests against the government of Boyko Borissov. Against this background, the arrest of several people from a new minority does not attract attention or sympathy. The fact that there is talk of the involvement of state security agencies makes journalists even more careful with the topic and ultimately abandon it as secondary. On this occasion, one of the detainees, released months later in 2019, said: “Today we were arrested, but who can guarantee that it will not happen again or that those arrested with this anti-terrorism legislation will not be Bulgarians?” Indeed, there are no guarantees.
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Author Profile
- is a freelance columnist, journalist, and author focusing on Syria, conflicts, hybrid warfare, and mercenaries. He is a former author in Foreign Policy Bulgaria and Goethe Institut. He is a member of the Association of European Journalists - Bulgaria and co-founder of the Bulgarian journal for conflicts and military history De Re Militari. Ruslan Trad was a correspondent in Lebanon, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Thailand for TEMA Weekly and Bulgarian National Radio. He also reported from Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. In 2014 he was awarded Activist of the Year by the Helsinki Committee for his journalistic and activist work on refugee issues and Syria war coverage. In 2017 his first book on the Syrian Civil War, The Murder of A Revolution, was published in Bulgaria. His second book – on the Russian mercenaries, co-authored with the researcher Kiril Avramov – was published in 2020.
