SOFIA – In a shocking incident for the journalist community across the globe, a female journalist from Bulgaria, who threw light on an investigation into alleged corruption involving European Union funds, was killed in the Danube town of Ruse, local authorities said on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Viktoria Marinova’s body was found in a park on Saturday and she was identified only by her initials.
Interior Minister Mladen Marinov talking to reporters claimed that it was a rape and murder case and had nothing to do with her work as there was no evidence and no information that she had received threats.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov told reporters: “I am convinced it is a matter of time before the murder would be revealed. The best criminologists were sent to Ruse, let’s not press them. A large amount of DNA had been obtained.”
“Her death was caused by blows to the head and suffocation, and her mobile phone, car keys, glasses and some of her clothing were missing,” Ruse regional prosecutor Georgy Georgiev said.
Marinova, who worked for a popular Ruse-based television channel, TVN, is the third journalist killed in the EU in a year.
Local media reported that the deceased had recently been reported on an investigation by a group of Bulgarian journalists into companies involved in EU-funded infrastructure projects under the Bulgarian government. She had reported on alleged corruption by tycoons and politicians in an episode of his programme called Detector for TVN.
Harlem Desir, the media freedom representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), wrote on Twitter: “Shocked by horrific murder of investigative journalist Victoria Marinova in #Bulgaria. Urgently call for a full and thorough investigation.
“Those responsible must be held to account.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists termed it “shocked by the barbaric murder”.
“Bulgarian authorities must employ all efforts and resources to carry out an exhaustive inquiry and bring to justice those responsible,” said Tom Gibson, the CPJ’s EU representative, in a statement.
“With great pain and insurmountable grief the TVN’s team is experiencing the loss of our beloved colleague Victoria Marinova and we pray for sympathy to the sorrow of her relatives and colleagues,” TVN said in a short statement.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/journalist-leading-panama-papers-investigation-in-malta-falls-prey-to-car-bomb-attack/
Last October, Daphne Caruana Galizia, Malta’s best-known investigative journalist, was killed when her car was blown up by unknown persons.
