Comment by Emilia Milcheva:
"What is happening rather scares our people, they are afraid and Mr. Delyan Peevski knows it. But it also worries me that what is happening may radicalize them - because that is what is going on." This is how Birshen Ibryamova, wife of MP Ceyhan Ibryamova, who was detained with 100,000 leva marked, answers a question from Deutsche Welle an hour after the Court of Appeals decided to keep him permanently in custody. The prosecutor's office accuses him of influence peddling related to public procurement of the Ministry of Defense.
But even though behind bars, Ibryamov, leader of the list in Shumen of the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS) - one of the two wings of the MRF that remained loyal to Ahmed Dogan, will participate in the elections on October 27. The other camp - "MPS-New Beginning", is headed by the oligarch and sanctioned for corruption by the US and Britain Delyan Peevski. The case against Jeyhan Ibryamov, one of those close to Ahmed Dogan, is part of a series of cases against politicians from the MRF. The prosecutor's office, the anti-corruption commission and the services are targeting the former mayor of Kardzhali Hasan Azis, who served four terms, the current mayor of Mineralni Bani Myumyun Iskender, who was elected mayor for the fourth time, and other MRF activists. What they all have in common is that the cases began after the split in the DPS, and they remained loyal to Dogan.
Birshen Ibryamova notes the fact that her husband's case, which is causing a significant resonance among the voters of the previously unified DPS, but also outside it, is being heard in open court, and "the main evidence the prosecution is referring to is the SRCs" - and this is the desired effect.
Special intelligence tools were used against Jeyhan Ibryamov, who was detained on October 2 in a raid by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), while he was still under parliamentary immunity. The hundred thousand leva were given to him by Miroslav Todorov, the defendant in the tax fraud case, with whom they had previously known each other. In connection with this investigation, a luxury jeep used by Jeyhan Ibryamov, which was registered with Todorov's company, was seized.
"I did not hear anything new that the prosecution presented today (yesterday, b.a.), they again referred solely to the testimony of Miroslav Todorov. I would not rely on what sounds more like EJK ("A woman told me")", says Ibryamov and adds that "Temida, in addition to being blind, is also deaf". She ends the hunger strike she announced after her husband's arrest until his release. "My children are 10 and 12 years old, I have a responsibility to them and to their parents."
Who created Peevski
Birshen Ibryamova is not just the wife of Jeyhan Ibryamov, she is a person with her own weight and influence in the MRF - an activist of the Movement, over 15 years the secretary of Dogan. When asked by the DV: "Who created Peevski?", she said: "Unfortunately, I cannot answer the question of who created Mr. Peevski, but it is a fact that the MRF affirmed Mr. Peevski. Rather, he - on behalf of the MRF, created his own network, which, unfortunately, remained hidden from our eyes, we found out about it late. There is a saying in the Turkish language: "A snake that does not bite me, let it live a hundred years. We obviously found ourselves in this situation too."
Peevski was first elected as an MP from the MRF list in 2009, and in February 2024 he became co-chair of the MRF, personally promoted by Dogan as a "phenomenon" because of "his combinability, mediation skills and hyperactivity". Now they are directed against Dogan himself and his associates, and the honorary chairman is publicly apologizing for the "political monster", in whose career the MRF did not play a leading role, but only a contribution.
Asked if she really thinks that the MRF was not aware of what kind of force Delyan Peevski really represents, Birshen Ibryamova replies that until two years ago he did not have such influence. "With the exception of two or three MPs close to him, the rest of his colleagues did not even have his phone number." But now behind him are about twenty MPs elected with the MRF list - almost half of the parliamentary group.
This week, the other co-chair of the MRF, Dzhevdet Chakarov, who remained with Dogan, appealed to the parliamentary parties for support for convening an extraordinary session of the 50th National Assembly - due to the detention of Jeyhan Ibryamov. In order for such a session to be scheduled, the signatures of 48 MPs are required. At the moment, there is no publicly stated position from any of the political forces.
When asked if she thinks that Dzhevdet Chakarov's request will gather the necessary support, Ibryamova answers negatively. "Knowing a little about the psychology of MPs, I would say that their instinct for self-preservation will kick in. And they will understand that what happened to my husband could happen to them at any moment. Then we will have yet another proof of what the media and society are saying - that in addition to Mr. Peevski's "new beginning", many MPs from different parliamentary groups are also subordinate to him."
So far, none of the formations represented in the 50th parliament have expressed a position on the extraordinary session. But yesterday, the deputies from the "authentic MRF of Dogan", as they call themselves, and "There is such a people", declared their support for the request of the PP-DB for an interpretation by the Constitutional Court whether this Supreme Judicial Council, whose mandate has expired, can elect the Prosecutor General and the chairmen of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation. The reason is the procedure for electing a new Prosecutor General and the only candidacy of the acting prosecutor - Borislav Sarafov.
The deputies from the PP-DB have publicly announced their break with the "Peevski" model on several occasions. And in Studio OFFNews, the MP from the coalition Manol Peykov stated that he does not rule out the PP-DB working in the next parliament with the MRF of Dogan and GERB - under certain conditions. Earlier on bTV, the co-chairman of the DB, Gen. Atanas Atanasov also opened the door for the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms.
EJK: "Dogan kills Peevski"
However, one thread in the case against Ibryamov leads to the honorary chairman of the MRF. The Mediapool website revealed a statement by the main witness Miroslav Todorov, quoted by the prosecution - that Dogan intended to kill Peevski. The collapse of the Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB) began with an "attempted murder of Peevski" in 2014. The arrested suspects were later released due to lack of evidence.
It is not yet clear whether the prosecution will take action against Ahmed Dogan, who last appeared publicly at a protest in Sofia in support of Ceyhan Ibryamov and his wife. When asked by DV why the protest was not very popular - no more than two hundred people participated, Birshen Ibryamova explained that "many buses, both from Kardzhali and Burgas, were stopped for "routine" checks, which lasted 50 minutes per bus".
"There is no way we can remain indifferent and silent in the face of what is happening. I have such concerns", says Ibryamova.
There are 16 days left until the elections.