Association of European Journalists

A recent study by the Association of European Journalists - Bulgaria (AEJ-Bulgaria) has highlighted significant political pressure on journalists in the country, marking a concerning rise in challenges to press freedom.

Bulgarian journalist Dimitar Stoyanov and his colleague Angel Alexiev have been ordered to pay 3,000 leva to GERB deputy Lachezar Ivanov due to claims made by an interviewee in their 2021 publication. This decision, issued by the Sofia District Court and reported by the Association of European Journalists (AEJ), has sparked concerns about potential censorship.

Bulgarian journalists are boycotting the absurd demands placed on them by the Ministry of Finance headed by Asen Vassilev.

In an open letter to Minister Vassilev, with which the Association of European Journalists stands in solidarity with reporters and editors, it is stated:

"Dear Mr. Minister,

The situation with the freedom of the media in Bulgaria is getting worse because of lawsuits against media and journalists and because of intimidation of reporters. This is one of the conclusions in the annual report of the international human rights organization "Amnesty International" for 2022 in the section on Bulgaria. The report was released on March 28.

Journalist, academic and columnist Professor L. Doğan Tılıç has been honored by Spanish authorities with a Civil Order of Merit for his successful career as a member of the press.

Tılıç received the Civil Order of Merit on June 15 from Spain's ambassador to Turkey, Javier Hergueta Garnica, at the embassy in Ankara.

Addressing a press conference in Vienna on March 16, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov made a claim that critics say hardly stands up to scrutiny.

"In Bulgaria," he said, "freedom of speech is so encompassing that other countries hardly compare."

Venelin Petkov, the head of news, current affairs and sport at private channel bTV, said on Tuesday that he intends to sue United Patriots leader Valeri Simeonov for calling him and his colleague Anton Hekimyan corrupt during a broadcast on Bulgarian National Television.

"See you in court," Petkov wrote on Facebook in response to Simeonov's accusations.

Dozens of journalists at the state-run Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) staged a protest Friday in support of media freedom after a colleague known for her coverage of the country's graft-prone judicial system was briefly suspended from her job, writes Reuters. 

A new study carried out for the Bulgarian branch of the Association of European Journalists has shed light on the dire state of Bulgarian print media market.

The study shows a low level of trust in print media, mainly because of the negativity of most news headlines, plus the predominance of what it calls "incorrect, aggressive, non-objective media content".

The Association of European Journalists - Bulgaria, AEJ, has launched a campaign to grant symbolic press badges to 95 jailed Turkish reporters in time for the planned EU-Turkey summit in Varna on 26 March.