AEJ

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.

The Bulgarian Interior Ministry suggested on Wednesday that the attack on investigative journalist and editor Slavi Angelov on Sofia's central Dondukov Boulevard could be related to his work.

"Most likely it is an attempted assassination," Ivaylo Ivanov, the Interior Ministry's chief secretary, told Nova TV.

Bulgarian investigative reporter Dimitar Varbanov from the TV show "Gospodari na Efira", or "Lords of the Airwaves", which mixes satirical and comic content with investigations, was attacked while at work in the north-central city of Veliko Tarnovo, Nova TV announced on Wednesday evening.

The Association of European Journalists (AEJ-Bulgaria), a Bulgarian media freedom NGO, said in a statement on Tuesday that it will report Barekov for using inappropriate language in a press release and on social media.