One of Bulgaria’s most prominent investigative journalists warned of imminent physical threat
Bulgarian investigative journalist Atanas Tchobanov
Physical attacks and harassment against journalists are an unfortunate reality in the Balkans and especially Bulgaria. Journalists have ended in hospital because of their reports. Others have been killed. The assassination of the Bulgarian dissident journalist Georgi Markov in London in 1978 is a shameful page in the history of the communist regime in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, journalists still face risks to their lives today.
BFMI has learned today one of Bulgaria’s most prominent investigative journalists, Atanas Tchobanov, has been warned of a threat to his life by the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria. Tchobanov is a co-founder of the Bulgarian investigative website Bivol and director of the Bureau of Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD).
“I received a call from an official from a foreign government that I am under immediate threat and they are obliged by law to notify me. The threat is local to Bulgaria, but I am currently abroad. I immediately notified the Bulgarian services,” Tchobanov wrote in a statement.
Tchobanov has worked with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project(OCCPR) and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on significant investigations, such as the Pandora Papers and OpenLux. His revelations about corruption in Bulgaria have affected major business and political figures in the Balkans. As reported by BFMI, Bivol has also been subject to malicious lawsuits designed to shut down its operations
It is a growing and necessary practice of intelligence agencies to inform innocent individuals or risks to their lives. The USA has practised informing endangered persons since 2015 when the Director of National Intelligence issued Directive 191, officially codifying the “duty to warn.” As a result, all US intelligence agencies are required to “provide a warning regarding threats to specific individuals or groups of intentional killing, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping.”
The Balkan Free Media Initiative (BFMI) is deeply concerned about the threat of physical violence against one of Bulgaria's most prominent investigative journalists. The Bulgarian government has promised reform and change. BFMI calls on the Bulgarian authorities to take all necessary measures to protect Tchobanov and all journalists in the country.
