Bulgarian 'bounty hunter' faces jail for rounding up asylum seekers 'for sport' on horseback
A Bulgarian who hunts refugees as “sport” is facing up to four years behind bars.
Self-styled bounty hunter Dinko Valev, 29, chases asylum seekers on horseback, backed up by military vehicles.
He heads up a pack of hunters in Yambol along the border with Turkey, intercepting refugees fleeing Syria.
Valev – who is now facing jail for inciting racial hatred – claims every refugee is a potential jihadist.
He once described his hunts as “simply a sporting activity. You can’t describe sportsmen as violent.”
Valev was thought to have government backing after his bounty hunters acquired two military amphibious troop carriers.
But videos of women and children rounded up by his mob on quad bikes and being forced to lie face down in the mud outraged human rights supporters.
Human rights campaigners have been outraged by images of refugees being forced to lie face down in the mud (CEN)
According to local media, Bulgarian prosecutors are examining a criminal case against Valev for breaches of race hate laws.
State prosecutors in Yambol and nearby Sredets are reportedly investigating complaints that Valev and his men encouraged discrimination and spread racial hatred against migrants.
He is also being asked to explain how he has apparently become hugely wealthy on the back of his manhunt expeditions.
Valev used social media to show off his brand-new £180,000P Mercedes S-Class Coupe and thanked his supporters for making it possible.
He said: “There should be fans, because without fans, man is nothing. I love you, because without you this does not work.”
Valev is believed to have struck a number of lucrative deals because of his notoriety.
He was even offered £66,500 to take part in a local version of Big Brother.
Top image: CEN
