The Sofia City Court has ruled that Turkish citizen Eyup Temiz, charged with the murder of Slavi Binev, must remain in custody. The ruling can be appealed.

The court found that two sufficiently credible witnesses prove Temiz's guilt. One saw the body fall after the shot. Temiz told the other that he had shot Binev. The judge called the case rare, because there are witnesses to such a crime and their words back up the evidence found. He said the testimony and the evidence match and leave almost no room for doubt.

Prosecutors say Temiz and two other people went to Binev's home to sort out a dispute over a shared business. Binev was meant to mediate between the partners in the business of the defendant's wife, prosecutor Mariyan Aleksandrov said after the hearing.

Binev suggested meeting later that day, but Temiz insisted on meeting in Istanbul. Binev refused because he had a trip coming up. After a phone call in Turkish, the two men could not agree on a day and time, and the meeting was put off. As they were leaving, Temiz pulled out a pistol and shot Binev, and the three men fled.

An expert report found that the particles on Temiz's fingers are the same as those on the casing of the bullet that killed Binev. The two men had been family friends for several years and had gone on holiday together.

The prosecutor believes the defendant could commit another crime or go into hiding. Aleksandrov said the motive is not clear, and there is no evidence for the claim that Temiz acted in a state of heightened emotion.

Temiz's two lawyers put their arguments to the court. The first said the facts point to events different from those prosecutors describe, and that the witness statements show unlawful pressure on Temiz's family, which would lead to improper interference by third parties. She asked the court not to fully trust the testimony of the "driver-interpreter". She said another witness had testified against Temiz before his official questioning, which broke the law, so his testimony should not carry the same weight as the rest.

She denied that Temiz would go into hiding. He is married to a Bulgarian woman, has a permanent address in Bulgaria and three children here, and has no criminal record. Citizenship of a non-EU country does not automatically mean he will flee, the lawyer said.

The second lawyer said Temiz was very irritated because Binev had insulted and threatened his wife, and that the evidence shows the threats were real.

The court did not accept the argument about outside influence, because the shot was aimed at the victim's face. Whether Temiz was provoked has yet to be proved.

Temiz's wife, who is now in Turkey, will be questioned by video link. The court decided this at the start of the hearing.