The Association of European Journalists-Bulgaria (AEJ) strongly condemns the violence and threats against our colleagues who were reporting on the parliamentary election on October 27. Sadly, the aggression against field reporters came as a culmination of the election campaign which was marked by hostility and political pressure against journalists.
Our team documented four incidents in which members of the media were threatened and/or physically abused while covering the October 27 elections. In three of the cases, the aggression came from representatives of MRF-New Beginning, a new political party led by Delyan Peevski, a powerful politician and businessman sanctioned for corruption under the Global Magnitsky Act. In the fourth case, the threats came from a person posing as a GERB-SDF representative, as well as from a mayor close to the coalition. We demand answers from the political parties about the behavior of their representatives on the ground, as well as firm actions from the institutions called to guarantee the security of citizens and journalists.
The cases we have documented so far are the following:
- A BTV crew was assaulted in the Haskovo district “Republica”, the TV broadcaster reported. Cameraman Peter Kartulev was hit repeatedly. The police intervened and detained two men. The media has stressed that its crew had in no way provoked the attackers. The district prosecutor’s office in Haskovo has initiated pre-trial proceedings against the suspects for the violence against Kranchev. Both are registered as representatives of MRF-New Beginning.
- The journalist from the investigative website “For the Truth” Diana Jeliazkova was threatened by the mayor of the Shumen municipality Nikola Kozlevo in the Northeast of Bulgaria. Zhelyazkova was reporting on an unauthorized agitation in one of the polling sections in the village of Vulnari, when the mayor Ismail Ibryam entered the room which is a breach of the electoral code. In front of the entire sectional committee he wagged his finger at the reporter and told her to “be very careful”. The threat came as an answer to her critical questions about his potential illegal actions in the section. Zhelyazkova has filed a report with the police and the prosecutor’s office. Ibryam was nominated for mayor by a coalition between the BSP and the MRF in the 2023 local elections, but after the split in the MRF he joined the ranks of MRF-New Beginning.
- Bulgarian public radio’s correspondent in Veliko Tarnovo Zdravka Maslyankova also reported that she was threatened and insulted. The accident happened outside the third and fourth polling stations in Veliko Tarnovo. The reason, she said, was that she had asked voters and party representatives if they knew a person suspected for vote buying. The aggressor is the son of Gyunai Daloolu, local leader of MRF-New Beginning who was also running for MP. Police intervened and Maslyankova’s attacker was given a verbal warning and asked to leave the area.
- Threats were also addressed to Radio Free Europe journalist Damyana Veleva in the village of Dolno Osenovo in the municipality of Simitli in Southwestern Bulgaria. According to her account, those involved in the incident were the mayor of the village, Alexi Krunchov, a former police officer, and a man nicknamed Besi, who presented himself as a GERB-SDF representative at the polling section. In August this year, Krunchov was arrested with more than 3 kg of cannabis together with another public servant, but was not charged. There are two polling stations in Dolno Osenovo, with GERB candidate Stefan Apostolov the clear winner in both in recent years. The results were repeated in the parliamentary vote on 27 October 2024.
If you are a media representative who has been subjected to undue pressure on election day or during the election campaign, you can report it to us at [email protected].
