The Moldovan nationals about whose arrest IPN informed earlier are Ivan Kalak, Leonid Aksakal and Petr Topal. The latter has dual nationality, Moldovan and Bulgarian, IPN reports, with reference to the platform VESTI of the capital of Bulgaria.
Five persons suspected of involvement in the November 13 Istanbul terror attack were arrested in Bulgaria. Besides the three mentioned above, the prosecutors sought indefinite remand for Syrian Amran Abdulrami and a woman with health problems, who should not be in jail.
According to Prosecutor Angel Kanev of the Sofia City Prosecution Office, four of them were remanded for 72 hours and the prosecution service wants them remanded indefinitely. They were charged with terrorism, human trafficking and smuggling. They are suspected of providing “logistical assistance” to help one of the people involved in the bombing flee. Those charged entered Bulgaria illegally. They were mostly involved in logistical activities after the terror attack.
The Sofia City Court last Saturday decided to remand the four male suspects in custody. According to the court, there is no evidence they have been involved in the terrorist attack, except for information about a chat. They will remain in custody, however, because of suspected human trafficking.
There is information that the detained persons repeatedly transported illegal migrants from Turkey to Bulgaria and also from Bulgaria. They allegedly used hiding places set up in buses for the purpose. Presumably, Bilal Hasan, who is accused of direct involvement in the attack, left Istanbul for Bulgaria on November 13 this way. He travelled up to Edirne and was then transferred to a car following a quarrel with a female passenger. The Bulgarian Jeep was driven by a man called Mikhail, who hasn’t been yet identified.
The lawyer for the three Moldovans Adelina Natina after the hearing explained that the witnesses had been questioned in court until 10:30pm a day before. The hearing was held behind closed doors due to the presentation of classified information from Bulgarian and foreign security services.
The court’s decision is not final, according to Bulgarian press reports.
