Bulgaria / Europe & Central Asia

Berlin, September 22, 2020 – Bulgarian authorities must make good faith efforts to work with the press, and should refrain from taking actions that could intimidate reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 14, police in Sofia, the capital, summoned Martin Georgiev, a crime reporter at the local daily Sega, for questioning…

Berlin, September 3, 2020 — Bulgarian authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate police attacks on journalists, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that reporters can cover protests freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday evening, while breaking up an anti-government protest in Sofia, the capital, riot police officers attacked and briefly detained…

On August 5, 2020, at the conference of the ruling GERB party in Sofia, Bulgaria, an unidentified man attacked journalist Polina Paunova, a correspondent for the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, according to news reports, a video of the incident posted to Facebook, and the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via email. In…

Berlin, July 7, 2020—Bulgarian authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate the threatening phone calls made to journalist Nikolay Staykov, hold those responsible to account, and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since mid-June, Staykov, an independent journalist and co-founder of the Anti-Corruption Fund in Bulgaria, a local advocacy group, has received…

New York, June 27, 2020 — Bulgarian authorities should immediately drop the charges against publisher Ivo Prokopiev, which are retaliatory in nature and intended to stifle critical reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.  Tomorrow, Prokopiev, who owns the independent news website Dnevnik and business weekly Capital, is set to appear before a criminal…

Berlin, May 21, 2020 — Bulgarian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalist Dimiter Petzov and let him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Berlin, March 18, 2020 — Bulgarian authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the assault of journalist Slavi Angelov and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

The Bulgarian freelance investigative journalist Hristo Geshov said he received threats and at least two news outlets published articles attacking him and shared explicit videos and photos of him after he reported on an allegedly illegal water supply and sewage system at the Chiflika resort complex in Troyan, central Bulgaria. He also said that unknown…

In October 2018, Viktoria Marinova, a host for TVN, was raped and murdered near the station’s studios. When CPJ’s Europe correspondent, Attila Mong, spoke with her colleagues and other journalists during a trip to Bulgaria last month, they said that while they don’t believe the attack is linked to Marinova’s work, it has highlighted the…

On April 12, 2019, at least two journalists were injured while covering clashes between police and protesters in Gabrovo, a town in central Bulgaria, according to local media reports.