US Embassy Stands Up for Foundation Accused of Financing Protest Network

The US Embassy in Sofia is following the ongoing investigation into Protest Network and various media outlets which allegedly received funding by America for Bulgaria Foundation, the mission announced Thursday.

In a statement [BG] posted on Facebook, it defended America for Bulgaria calling it "an independent organization" whose activities are fully transparent and available to anyone on its website.

"We are convinced that all inspections will be carried out professionally and in full accordance with the Bulgarian law, and also with respect for civil liberties and freedom of speech," the statement reads further.

The embassy's comments refer to a claim submitted by a Bulgarian media outlet whose publisher and Editor-in-chief maintain that the so-called Protest Network, one of the main entities formed during the 2013 summer protests against Plamen Oresharski's government, received illicit funding from the foundation.

The media outlet is thought to have ties to Delyan Peevski, a lawmaker whose appointment to the Bulgarian counter-intelligence body DANS opened the floodgates of 2013's mass protests, but it publisher consistently denies.