site.btaUPDATED BNR Takes Down Interview with Russian Ambassador over Violation of Journalistic Standards, Accusations of Censorship Follow

An interview with Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova on Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) Saturday was taken down from the programme over violations of the journalistic standards. The way it was done prompted comments of political censorship but the BNR management denied that and said it was acting by its professional standards and procedure.

The interview was made by radio host Petar Volgin for the Politically INcorrect programme. According to an announcement he published ahead of the show, it was going to be about the impact of the dismantling of the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia on bilateral relations, among other things. The planned interview prompted an angry reaction from the Ukrainian Embassy and it put out a statement Friday saying that inviting an official of an aggressor state violated the professional journalistic standards.

A reaction also came Friday from Movement for Rights and Freedoms floor leader Delyan Peevski who said the planned broadcast showed "gross disregard for national sovereignty, European positions and values" and trampled on Bulgaria's national interests. Peevski argued that it is inadmissible for the public radio to serve as a mouthpiece for pro-Putin propaganda and disinformation. He noted that Mitrofanova represents an aggressor who, in addition to waging a war against Ukraine, is also engaged in a hybrid war against the EU and NATO. He urged the CEM and other regulators to prevent a provocation on national radio.

On Saturday, Volgin wrote in a social media post: "Delyan Peevski expressed objections to the participation of Russian Ambassador Eleonova Mitrofanova in a BNR programme. The BNR programming board banned the interview with her. The managers said that there was no connection between the two things. What do you think?"

BNR Director General Milen Mitev said on Saturday that the decision to drop the interview from the programme was made by 18 votes in the BNR programming board and two abstentions, over what they saw as violations of the journalistic standards.  He said that Politically INcorrect is one of the best examples that BNR is a free media, and expressed the hope that while he is on this position at BNR, there will be no talk of "closing down programmes because of the things said on air".

The Vazrazhdane party reacted strongly Saturday to social media reports that BNR had refused to broadcast the interview. In a press release, the party protested against what they described as "the political censorship and double standards in the Bulgarian public media".

The party called on the BNR Programme Board to resist "the political pressure exerted on the fourth power". It referred to a report by the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) which concluded that Volgin's show meets journalism standards.

Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Korneliya Ninova also commented on the matter, arguing that the interference of politicians in the work of journalists is an attack on their freedom, on freedom of speech. "A politician cannot say who should go to an interview and who should not," Ninova was adamant.

The Council for Electronic Media would not take a stance on whether or not the professional standards were met, until it is familiar with the details. "There is no way to express a definite position until I know the details of this decision and the prerequisites for it," commented Council Chair Sonya Momchilova. She expressed hope that the decision of the BNR programming board was aimed to ensure compliance with the standards but she also expressed a fear of spreading self-censorship.

The interview situation prompted a reaction from Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, TASS reported. "In Bulgaria, Russian women do not have the right to give interviews or cross the airspace. Is it still possible to breathe in Bulgaria?" Zakharova wrote on Telegram. At the end of November, Sergey Lavrov's plane did not fly over Bulgaria on the way to Skopje, as Zakharova, who accompanied him, was not allowed to fly over the territory of Bulgaria, as she is included in the sanctions list of the European Union due to the war of Russia against Ukraine.

On Saturday evening, the BNR  leadership issued an official  position rejecting attempts to interfere in the editorial policy of the media and calling suggestions of censorship unacceptable and speculative.

The decision not to broadcast the interview with Mitrofanova was made in accordance with BNR's editorial rules and professional standards, in accordance with the public interest, the legal framework and the Code of Ethics of the Bulgarian media, specifically requirements for interviews to be impartial, not appear favorable to the position of the interlocutor, and regulate principles when covering military actions and positions of warring parties, the BNR said in its statement.