site.btaAssociation of European Journalists – Bulgaria Condemns News Article on Woman's Murder, Warns against Justification of Femicide in News Media

The Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria (AEJ–Bulgaria) Tuesday strongly condemned an article in an online newspaper that the organization says shifted blame for a recent murder onto the female victim. The article in Telegraph.bg risked normalizing femicide in Bulgarian media, the organization warned.

The article, titled "Sofia Shooting: Stela Cheated on the Boxer With a Loan Shark!" and published on November 9, 2025, is no longer accessible on the Telegraph.bg website.

AEJ–Bulgaria criticized the piece for presenting a series of degrading claims about the murdered woman without indicating any evidence or reliable sources. Instead of denouncing the killing, the association said, the story appeared to demonize the victim while eliciting sympathy for the perpetrator.

According to the organization, this type of reporting is not merely unethical—it is dangerous. AEJ–Bulgaria warned that narratives framing victims as responsible for their own deaths contribute to a media environment in which femicide is justified or normalized. This comes amid alarming national statistics: at least 22 women have been killed in Bulgaria since the beginning of the year, according to data from Feminist Mobilizations.

The association emphasized that such coverage also deepens the grief of the victim’s family and conflicts with the Ethical Code of Bulgarian Media. Particularly troubling is the potential impact on the children of both the victim and the perpetrator, who may encounter the article and suffer further trauma. The case involved the killing of a mother by her partner, who then took his own life.

AEJ–Bulgaria calls on the management of Telegraph.bg and Nova Broadcasting Group, the media company that owns the outlet, to make public their position on the publication and address the ethical issues raised.