Ahmed Dogan


Ahmed Demir Dogan is a Bulgarian oligarch and politician of Turkish descent. He was chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms from 1990 to 2013.

Life and career

Dogan was born in Pchelarovo to Demire Dogan from Drandar and an unknown father from Pchelarovo, a village with Bulgarian and Roma population. 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". He is the founder of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, 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.
In October 2010, the Supreme Administrative Court 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.

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. According to many experts, even if the gun had fired it would have caused only non-lethal injuries. At this point, Dogan struck the arm of the assailant, pushing the arm holding the gun away, and grappled with him for a few moments before falling over. The assailant was then 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. In February 2014, Enimehmedov received a sentence of three years and six months imprisonment.