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Abbas orders probe into death of Palestinian fugitive in Bulgaria embassy

Xinhua, February 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered Friday a probe into the death of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Omar Nayef Zayed (Al-Nayef) in Sofia.

Abbas condemned "the horrendous crime," and has sent a team to Bulgaria for the investigation, reported the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Nabil Abu Rudainah, president's spokesperson, said the Palestinian side is following up the issue closely with Bulgarian authorities.

According to the Palestinian foreign ministry, the body of Al-Nayef was found in the garden of Palestinian embassy in Sofia with serious injuries

The PFLP accused Israel of standing behind it.

Head of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) detainees' affairs commission Eassa Qaraqe' described what happened as a "war crime and international piracy by Israel, which is hunting Palestinian fighters, especially, freed detainees."

Al-Nayef was detained by Israel in 1986 and sentenced to life, but in 1990 he was transferred to a Palestinian hospital due to his deteriorating medical conditions, where he escaped and came to Bulgaria.

Last December, Israeli military prosecution sent a letter to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice, via its embassy in Sofia, to hand in Al-Nayef whom it considered a fugitive and sentenced to life. The Bulgarian prosecution office immediately requested placing Al-Nayef into custody for 72 hours until an urgent court would look into the request of the Israeli embassy and answer it.

Al-Nayef refused to turn in himself and resorted to the Palestinian embassy in Sofia instead. Endit