This from the Courier has been in my drafts on here since the weekend - it rambles on a bit, and didn't think anyone on here would be particularly interested.
But this is why I thought there
had been some kind of physical contact, and that the girl
had been taken to hospital, but it was all a tad embellished in terms of injuries etc. (See highlighted part in particular.)
Of course, this is obviously a puff piece for the Bulgarian, and the Courier could at least have asked him about his tats and his online 'gypsy gangster' image, blah, blah.
And, as the two linked photos below suggest, it's all a bit sugar-coated.
This was published last Friday.
EXCLUSIVE: Bulgarian dad branded ‘monster’ over Dundee ‘knife’ incident speaks outhttps://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/53 ... dad-video/https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/wp-con ... 40x564.jpgAli Dumana, 21, spoke to The Courier to give his version of events on the incident that has sparked a global storm.Bulgarian dad says his life has been shattered since a video of a Dundee street confrontation went viral after being shared by right-wing figures including Elon Musk and Tommy Robinson.
Ali Dumana, 21, says the clip filmed in Lochee last Saturday night has made him a target for online hate on a scale he could never have imagined.
The Courier understands that, having carried out inquiries, including studying CCTV, police have found no evidence to support claims made online against the construction worker.
A 12-year-old girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has been charged in connection with the alleged possession of a knife and an axe.
Speaking at his home, with his wife Fetka Fatosh, 19, and eight-month-old son Kostadin beside him, Mr Dumana said the abuse has left him in fear of leaving the house.
“I know I’m innocent. I just want them to stop,” he said.
‘Offensive things’In an interview with The Courier, Mr Dumana set out his version of last Saturday’s events.
He also explained why he recorded a video of the incident, which has gone viral across the globe since being uploaded online.
Mr Dumana moved to the UK from Bulgaria in 2020.
Although he speaks good English, his interview with The Courier was carried out in his native tongue and then translated by our journalist, who speaks both languages fluently.
He said: “At about 7pm on Saturday, I was going to the shop when four girls passed by and started shouting offensive things at me.
“I tried to ignore them and carried on my way, but they continued.
“I couldn’t quite get everything that they were saying as they were talking very fast, but it was nothing nice.
“So I stopped and went back simply to ask what their problem with me is and why they came bothering me.
https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/wp-con ... scaled.jpg
“That was the moment one of them picked up her phone and started telling someone – presumably the police – that a grown man is following them and asking them for sexual things.
“I started recording it all to have proof – I was doing nothing of the sort and she was lying, and I wanted that on the record.
“At the same time, the other girl started making such a scene that would put Hollywood to shame, shouting at me, ‘Why are you following us? We are little’.
“I once again repeated I was doing no such thing, it was them who stopped me to cause a problem.
“Suddenly, two of the girls started talking among themselves, giving the impression that they were planning to take a swing at me.”
‘Why I recorded Dundee incident video’
Mr Dumana says at this point, there was a physical confrontation between one of the girls and his sister, which led to him pushing one of the youngsters away.
“I’ve told all of this to the police,” he said.
“I did this for our safety, I had to do something – and the officers agreed with that.”Mr Dumana has faced questions online about why he filmed the girls.
He said: “I had a witness from the block across the road who saw all of this and came to defend us, trying to get them away from us.
“That’s when I recorded the video with the knives and all of them shouting at me not to touch them and leave them alone.
“I figured she would throw away the knives or hide them, and I needed that proof that she had them, that I wasn’t lying, that I hadn’t done anything.
“Shortly after, when the girl with the weapons had walked off further away, the police arrived.
“The officers put the handcuffs on her, and then began the big search for the weapons.
“They arrested her and then came to me to quiz me about what happened.
“They checked CCTV from Farmfoods and spoke to the eyewitness while I showed them the video and explained the whole situation.
“They said I would need to go to the station to give a statement but insisted that I wasn’t arrested because I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“I genuinely have no clue how this whole thing came about, why they approached me in the first place and why they started shouting nasty things at me. I still don’t know.”
‘My worst enemy’Mr Dumana says he sent the video he took of the girl allegedly brandishing the weapons to a local social media site, in a bid to defend himself after the mum of one of the girls had posted online about the incident.
Within hours, the clip was being shared across the world.
He said: “It just so turned out that, instead (of clearing my name), the video became my worst enemy.
“I never expected this social media explosion to happen.”
The video has been seen by millions of people online.
One post featuring the video has had more than 24 million views on X, the social media site owned by Musk, and a further eight million on a post from English Defence League (EDL) co-founder Robinson.
As well as sharing the narrative about Ali’s alleged behaviour towards the girls, both men have referred to his supposed ethnicity and immigration status.
This narrative was further fuelled by a Facebook post from Dundee mum Abbie Sommer, which included photos of Mr Dumana and his sister and serious allegations against them both.
Ms Sommer’s post also said that “these people conveniently can’t speak English any more” when police tried to talk to them.
That post was also shared by Robinson, among others.
Both police and Dundee’s council leaders have since hit out at the spread of misinformation surrounding the case.
He told us: “People can say whatever they want, but I know I’m innocent.
“I was just a normal person, who had got home from work and decided to go to the shop.
“But now thinking about it, God perhaps had a plan.
“If (the girl) hadn’t stopped me, she could have done something way worse and actually hurt someone, which gladly didn’t happen.
“The thing is, I understand why people reacted that way.
“The situation seems so real with all the screams and everything they are saying, and I get why people got fooled and started to attack me.
“I understand how they would have been deceived by all that, but they don’t know the truth.
“It’s come to a point where people are now sharing my photos online, sending me messages and whatnot, just to seek some sort of popularity, I suppose, when none of what they are saying is actually true.
“I haven’t done anything wrong, but I’m constantly being berated on social media – I have no words for it.
“I keep getting messages and emails from all sorts of people from everywhere – America, Wales, the UK.
“And they are all saying, ‘F***ing monster, leave alone our kids’.
“I haven’t done anything to their kids – it’s these kids that are walking about with weapons, thinking they are some sort of gangsters.
“I just want them to stop.”
‘Always expecting someone to attack me’On Thursday, while Courier journalist Ellidh Aitken was speaking to his relatives at his front door, a neighbour confronted them, saying he felt “terrified” to be living near the family.
This prompted police to attend the block of flats.
Mr Dumana said: “I walk around with a cap and a hoodie to hide when I’m out and about now, as I’m always expecting someone to attack me or start taking photos of me on the street.
“I live in a free country but I don’t feel free at the moment – and it’s all because random people keep spreading mistruths about me.
“I can’t even go to work or to the shop in peace.”
Mr Dumana, who previously lived and worked in St Andrews, says he has felt welcomed in Scotland until this incident.
“My time there [in St Andrews] was just a dream,” he said.
“It was such a lovely place that taught me so much.
“I was so young then. I met loads of friends, got a good job and just learned how to be a decent person.
“I grew up there essentially, and I’ve never had any issues with anyone – it was just a friendly place.
“Excluding this latest incident, I’ve never had any issues before.
“I find Scottish people to be so kind and polite, always greeting me when passing by and always ready to help out.
“And what happened hasn’t changed this for me.
“I’ve spent five years building a life here and I wouldn’t throw it away just because someone decided to spread lies about me.
“And that’s now resulted in my wife getting verbally attacked by someone who believed everything he saw online, too.
“All I want to say to people is that they shouldn’t jump to conclusions without knowing the whole story.
“Don’t trust everything you see online.
“They can say whatever they want, but the truth is only one – I’m innocent.”
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As indeed I think explains the fear evident in the face and actions of the wee girl with the weapons. She's trying to do the wee hard woman act, and got caught out, and on camera, and it's that on display in the viral video, and not the imminent fear of being raped by marauding immigrant hordes.
