Hundreds of Bulgarians mourn death of investigative journalist amid demands for independent international probe

Hundreds of Bulgarians mourn death of investigative journalist amid demands for independent international probe
By bne IntelliNews October 9, 2018

Hundreds of Bulgarians held mourning vigils on October 8 in Sofia and several other towns to commemorate Victoria Marinova, a 30-year old investigative journalist who was brutally murdered two days earlier.

Marinova was found dead on October 7. She had been raped, brutally beaten and suffocated. The police have said they are working on several different theories for the murder, including those related to her work and personal life.

Although there are no suspects and the police are still investigating, many point out that Marinova’s last show was dedicated to the recent arrest of two investigative journalists in Bulgaria and their investigation into serious corruption in public orders financed by EU funds.

“Killing freedom of speech is not a metaphor in Bulgaria anymore,” a poster in Sofia says.

At the same time, several international organisations, including the European Union, have called on the authorities to urgently discover those responsible for the murder.

"I am apalled by the murder of journalist Victoria Marinova in Bulgaria. I call on the authorities to urgently and fully investigate this horrendous crime and ensure that those responsible, inclusing the masterminds, are held accountable. The fact that her latest reporting work was related to the alleged misuse of EU funds should also press for international scrutiny," the EU's Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic said in a statement.

Bulgarian independent investigative news portal Bivol.bg has called for an independent international investigation. Its journalist was one of the two arrested while investigating the corruption case, and their arrest, along with their findings, were the subject of Marinova's last work.

In April, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Bulgaria lowest in the EU and in the Balkans in terms of media freedom in its 2018 report, slamming widespread corruption and collusion between media, politicians and oligarchs.

A small anti-corruption civic movement, BOEC (Bulgaria United with One Goal), used the occasion to demanded the resignation of chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov. Its supporters gathered in front of the palace of justice after lighting candles for Marinova. They say they will keep gathering until Tsatsarov resigns.

Many of those gathering to pay respect to Marinova said that, even if the prosecution says the murder was not connected to her work, the doubt will always remain due to the complete lack of trust in the judicial and political institutions in the country and due to the poor situation of Bulgarian media.

However, there were others who believe that this could be yet another case of brutal violence against woman in Bulgaria.

“I don’t want to light candles. I want effective measures preventing violence against women,” the poster held by a young woman reads.

“I am here, because I am afraid when I walk alone in the dark,” another poster says.

There have been several cases of brutal murders of young women by their male relatives in recent years in Bulgaria. In all the cases the women had complained to the police but got no adequate protection.

Bulgaria is one of few EU member states that refused to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention). Moreover, in July the constitutional court ruled the convention breaches the constitution.

The treaty, known as the Istanbul Convention, was signed by Bulgaria in 2016, but it has not been ratified by the National Assembly in Sofia. Its purpose is to protect women against all forms of violence, and prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence.

All political parties in the parliament, as well as the Bulgarian Orthodox church and nationalist organisations, strongly opposed its adoption, claiming that it will allow the introduction of a “third sex” and same-sex marriages. As a consequence, in March the government formally decided to withdraw the convention from parliament.

Debates on the convention escalated into mass denial as politicians saw the use of the word “gender” in the context of “social roles, behaviours, activities and characteristics that a particular society considers appropriate for women and men” as indicating the recognition of a "third sex".

Moreover, there were women who publicly stated that they would rather be beaten by their spouses than to allow the introduction of a third sex.

In Bulgarian, the word “gender” was translated using the word for “sex” - the biological difference between a man and a woman, which raised worries among more conservative people, fuelled by nationalist statements about a "European plot" aimed at destroying traditional values.

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