The Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office filed a complaint regarding the statements of the journalist Atanas Chobanov from the investigative website Bird.bg that he was threatened.
On Sunday, Bird.bg reported that they had received a warning from a foreign government that Chobanov was under “immediate threat”. Earlier, the International Journalism Project on Investigation of Organized Crime and Corruption, OCCRP, also reported on Twitterthat he has “serious and reliable information” about the threat against Chobanov.
So far, the state prosecution has not been notified by the institutions of a threat to the journalist, the prosecutor’s office said. They added that letters had been sent to the Ministry of Interior, the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime – the Ministry of Interior, the General Directorate of the National Police, the Sofia Directorate of the Interior, the State Intelligence Agency, SANS and the Military Intelligence Service. asking if they have information about a threat to Chobanov and, if so, what measures have been taken to protect him.
After the inspection, the prosecutor in the case will assess whether there is sufficient evidence of a crime of a general nature. If there are any, pre-trial proceedings will be instituted, the prosecutor’s office said.
On Monday, the press center of the MRF announced that the chairman of the party Mustafa Karadayi and the deputies Yordan Tsonev and Delyan Peevski will refer to SANS with a request to verify Chobanov’s allegations.
“The referral of SANS by the mafia organization under the guise of the MRF political party is proof that the order against me comes from the front row in parliament. “, the journalist commented on the position of the MRF.
Earlier, the Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria (AEJ) called on the Bulgarian authorities to take “all necessary measures” to protect Chobanov. IN position AEJ insists that everything possible be done to identify and neutralize the possible source of the threat against the journalist.
“Due to the nature of their work, which exposes corruption and irregularities, investigative journalists are in a vulnerable position and it is the responsibility of the institutions to protect them from any encroachment on circles that might be interested in silencing them.” journalists sometimes remain the only inconveniences that hinder the implementation of large-scale criminal schemes or high-level corruption, “the organization said in a statement.
On Sunday, Chobanov himself commented on the information on his Facebook profile. According to him, so far he has not been notified by the Bulgarian authorities of any action taken in the case.
“My last work is related to Peevski and lobbying agreements of his proxy with Tony Podesta. It is clear to me that the order comes from the front row in the National Assembly. The question is what the new government is doing to get us out of the infamous 111th place in terms of media freedom, “Chobanov added.
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