Palestinians demand truth about death in Sofia embassy

Palestinian suspicions fall on Israel after mysterious death of Omar Nayef Zayed at embassy in Bulgarian capital.

Palestinian groups have accused Israel of killing Zayed

 Almost a week after he was found dead in the Palestinian embassy in Bulgaria, Omar Nayef Zayed's case continues to grip the occupied Palestinian territories. On Tuesday, a few dozen Palestinians protested by the Bulgarian Representative office in Ramallah amid a heavy security presence.

An ambulance leaves the compound of the Palestinian embassy in Sofia

The protesters held a banner threatening that "the crime of assassinating Al Nayef (Zayed) won't go unpunished", raising posters of the 51-year-old found in a pool of blood outside the building in Sofia.
The protesters held the Bulgarian authorities responsible and demanded the truth about his death be revealed.

"We came here to deliver a clear message to the Bulgarian representative; that they are responsible for this heinous crime," Ahmad Zayed, Omar's brother told Al Jazeera. "They should have provided protection for Omar and the Palestinian embassy, but they didn't."


A Palestinian native from the West Bank city of Jenin, Zayed was sentenced by an Israeli court to life in prison after being charged with killing a Yeshiva student in occupied East Jerusalem in 1986.

Four years into his sentence, he managed to escape Israeli custody during a hospital visit. He ended up in Sofia in 1994, and was granted residency, starting a family. Zayed's quiet life running a grocery store with his wife and three children turned upside down a couple of months ago, when the Israeli embassy in Sofia requested the Bulgarian government extradite him on December 15.He sought refuge in the Palestinian embassy only to be found covered in a pool of his blood last Friday.