site.btaMedia Review: August 11

JUSTICE – HOME SCENE

Dnevnik: "At some point, politicians and businessmen realized that they could silence journalists without spilling a drop of blood. And the way they could shut them up was by turning justice into a weapon. That’s when [Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation] SLAPP lawsuits were invented," said Pavol Szalai in an interview for Deutsche Welle, republished by Dnevnik. Szalai heads the EU and Balkans desk at Reporters Without Borders.

Reporters Without Borders criticized in a statement the court ruling against journalist Boris Mitov and Mediapool. This is the second SLAPP lawsuit against the outlet in just a few years. How dangerous is such a trend? These lawsuits threaten media freedom in Bulgaria. This is why Bulgaria ranks so low in our World Press Freedom Index. The country has the third-worst result after Cyprus and Greece — 70th place out of 180 countries. The problem with SLAPP lawsuits has existed for years, and the only thing we hear from the authorities are promises.

The case of Boris Mitov and Mediapool shows that Bulgaria needs systemic protection for journalists against SLAPP lawsuits. There is European legislation and recommendations, both from the EU and the Council of Europe — the solution is there. What is needed is political will to implement it.

Reporters Without Borders, together with other organizations, is planning a visit to Bulgaria in September — and SLAPP lawsuits are one of the issues we will raise with the Bulgarian authorities.

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Bulgarian National TV (BNT): The Nomination Committee that will hear and evaluate candidates for members of the Anti-Corruption Commission is meeting for its second session. The meeting will take place in the National Assembly building.

At Monday’s session, the Committee is expected to decide on the eligibility of the candidates for the Anti-Corruption Commission. There are four candidates — lawyer Adelina Natina, legal expert Maria Daskalova, legal expert Petar Koev, and Stoyan Petkov. The date on which the candidates will be heard is also expected to be set.

The Nomination Committee held its first meeting on August 1. At the time, committee chair Silvia Kadreva said she hoped the procedure for electing the members and leadership of the Anti-Corruption Commission would be completed by the end of August.

***

Capital reposts a Facebook post by civic activist Boyan Yurukov who has created a digital map of all the 4,400 State-owned properties the government has put up for sale.

“Since we’re on the topic of real estate, here’s yet another scheme…

The Minister of Justice is proposing to abolish the possibility of obtaining uncertified copies of deeds recorded in the property register. The stated reason is the fight against property fraud — a fight waged mainly through PR statements rather than real measures. However, this change is extremely dangerous — in fact, it helps property fraudsters as a side effect, but it also serves another purpose altogether.

At present, everyone has access to the deeds in the property register. You must identify yourself with an electronic signature, so that both property owners and the judicial system can see who viewed which documents and when. In other words, if the goal was to fight fraudsters, we would “simply” need a functioning prosecutor’s office and no protection rackets within the Ministry of Justice and the courts.

Currently, this free but traceable access to deeds is used precisely to combat fraud — any of us can clearly see whether and by whom a property is owned, whether a document in front of us has been tampered with in any way, and a number of other schemes we hear about in the media. Moreover, the central role in the frauds that the Ministry of Justice refers to is impossible without the involvement of public officials — yet the current measure does not address this. Minister Georgiev is trying to remove a priceless tool from citizens’ hands in this fight. That, however, is just a side effect.

Even more valuable is this tool for journalists and activists, who use it to monitor corruption, connections between politicians, businesses, prosecutors, judges, shady interests, and schemes — the kind that can be seen in the sale of 4,400 state-owned properties. I use it myself in the investigations I carry out. It is precisely this transparency, allowed and regulated by law, that Georgiev is trying to stop. For anyone paying attention to the issue, it is clear that this is in the interest of GERB-New Beginning and MRF-New Beginning.

If you’re wondering why I can’t tag him in this post, it’s because he blocked me back when he was a municipal councilor in Sofia and was turning objective facts upside down to lobby for harmful decisions that served a specific interest. Now he’s doing it at the national level.

I call on you to submit opinions during the public consultation at Strategy.bg. They run until September 9, and although I don’t expect Georgiev to take into account any external criticism or requests for changes, it’s important to make it clear that his intentions are transparent and the change is dangerous.”

***

NOVA TV reports yet another case of a false positive drug test, this time from the coastal city of Varna. A TV team was contacted by the mother of a 20-year-old man who, because of such a roadside test, lost his driver’s license for more than 10 months. Later, a blood sample showed a negative result, yet the car was returned without its license plates.

Krasimira Deneva recounted what happened to her son. On September 26, 2024, he was returning from a night shift at Golden Sands resort when police pulled him over and tested him for alcohol and drugs. The breathalyzer showed zero, but the drug test came back positive for methamphetamine. The young man was then placed under arrest for 12 hours.

“I insist on a change in the law. We have created a Facebook group called ‘Victims of False Positive Drug Tests During Traffic Checks by the Traffic Police.’ I urge people to join it, so we can create a non-governmental organization, collect 12,000 signatures, and submit a petition to the National Assembly for a change in the law,” the mother of the affected driver said. She also vowed to seek justice through the courts.

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The case of a child with disabilities who was removed from an aircraft continues to dominate the media.

Trud: The Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPD) will conduct an investigation into the case of a child removed from an airplane, the CPD announced. The commission acted on its own initiative following a report by its chairperson, Elka Bozhova. She proposed opening proceedings under the Protection against Discrimination Act to determine whether conditions exist to establish direct discrimination (in the form of harassment) and whether there was unlawful refusal of service by the pilot towards a person with a disability, after which the prescribed sanctions could be imposed.

“I consider that the actions of the carrier, and specifically of the pilot who refused to allow a child with a disability to board the aircraft, without taking into account the specifics of the wheelchair used for mobility, are in direct violation of Article 37 of the Protection against Discrimination Act concerning the provision of transport services on the grounds of ‘disability,’” Bozhova stated in her report, as cited in the press release.

The chairperson of the commission reminded that, according to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006, removing passengers from board is a last resort measure that may be taken only after all reasonable alternatives have been exhausted.

According to Bozhova, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has also been breached.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov submitted a complaint to the CPD regarding the case with the airline Ryanair. An investigation by the Civil Aviation Administration’s General Directorate has also been ordered and is currently underway.

The airline also issued a statement concerning the case of the Bulgarian family with a mobility-impaired child who was removed from the plane. “The ground staff at Sofia Airport responsible for loading the wheelchair onto the plane were unable to determine whether the battery was isolated and could not load the wheelchair onto the aircraft. When the passengers were informed that the ground staff at Sofia Airport could not load the wheelchair, they became aggressive on board the plane and were removed by the local police,” the statement said.

POLITICS

A political party led by President Rumen Radev is expected to emerge after his term as head of state ends in late 2026.

This hopeful prediction was made by Slavi Vasilev, a political analyst close to the President. Vasilev is one of the main spokespersons for the President’s viewpoints on morning TV shows. His father, Vasil Vasilev, was part of the committees that nominated Radev for president.

“Radev’s term ends next year, and then the moment will come when he must say what he will do next. Then citizens will finally see an alternative to [GERB leader] Boyko Borissov and [MRF-New Beginning leader] Delyan Peevski. I hope President Radev will announce this political project,” Vasilev said in an interview on Nova TV, during a debate with government supporter Georgi Harizanov.

If Vasilev’s prediction is accurate, this means Radev’s anticipated political project will be postponed until 2027, since the presidential term actually ends in January the following year. According to Vasilev, people currently see no alternative to the government, which makes early elections pointless.

“Certainly, until January 1, the government and majority will remain as they are. But tensions are very high between the partners. The big question is what to expect if elections bring the same options again. What is holding the government up is the lack of an alternative — at this stage, none exists,” Vasilev said.

President Radev once again used public fears to attack Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone, commented Georgi Harizanov on the Sunday criticism by the head of state against the government. From Varna, Radev said the rush to adopt the euro had emptied the budget, and therefore the government wants to quickly sell 4,400 state properties, but he is vetoing amendments to the State Property Act.

“I would like to ask the President how exactly rushing for the euro empties the budget? Even if we assume that this time the President did not lie, the budget problems have nothing to do with the haste for the euro [adoption]. The problems are systemic due to the governance of the past four years,” Harizanov commented.

WILDFIRES SITUATION

The situation with the wildfires raging across the country is covered by BNT and Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

A state of emergency has been declared for three villages in the Municipality of Sredets — Slivovo, Sinyo Kamene, and Granitets — due to a wildfire. The blaze started in the area of Slivovo and later spread to the territories of Sinyo Kamene and Granitets, BNR reports.

Two helicopter crews from the Krumovo Air Base were dispatched to help contain the fire.

An American Black Hawk helicopter from the Novo Selo Training Area joined firefighting efforts near the town of Sungurlare. Forests are burning in the territories of the villages of Beronovo, Slavyantsi, and Skala. Eleven fire crews remained on the scene overnight. According to Burgas Regional Governor Vladimir Krumov, as of this morning there are still active hotspots near Sungurlare, with more than eight teams on the ground and aerial monitoring planned. The affected area is about 12,000 decares (1,200 hectares), but there is no danger to populated areas. The state of emergency remains in place, with the fire closest to the village of Skala.

Strong winds changed direction several times yesterday, fanning the flames. More than 10,000 decares (1,000 hectares) have been burned.

The wildfire in the Pirin Mountains above the village of Ploski and the town of Sandanski flared up again yesterday. The fire broke out on July 25, destroyed tens of thousands of decares in the mountain, and still cannot be fully extinguished.

Three new hotspots have emerged — one below the quarries of Ilindentsi, and two above Sandanski in the higher parts of the mountain, near the border with Pirin National Park. The fire has also affected new forested areas.

In Sofia yesterday, fires broke out and were contained in the Hristo Botev district and above the town of Bankya.

WORLD

bTV runs a commentary by former defence minister Todor Tagarev about the upcoming meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will discuss a possible end of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Tagarev also comments on a recent visit by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia.

“The team of President Donald Trump is approaching this very important issue in an absolutely unprofessional manner,” Tagarev said. According to him, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who had previously met with Putin, is “absolutely incompetent.”

“He made gross mistakes in one of his earlier meetings — even his interpreter was from today’s KGB,” Tagarev said.

Regarding the upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin, Tagarev drew a comparison with the meetings between Arthur Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler and the subsequent Munich Agreement on Czechoslovakia.

“Let me remind you — Hitler believed that he should get the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, near the German border at the time. In Munich, delegations from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy gathered — without the Czechoslovak delegation. They decided to hand over this region to appease Hitler, so that he would not start a major war in Europe. However, he was following a playbook that Putin is also using now. First — military provocations; there was a puppet Slovak Republic created, which declared independence from Czechoslovakia in Germany’s interest. About two months later, he took over all of Czechoslovakia,” Tagarev recalled.

The former defence minister noted that there are still many differences in the behavior, as well as the military and economic power, of the states involved in these processes.

24 Chassa also covers Tagarev’s remarks.

***

Mediapool: Five journalists from the Qatari television network Al Jazeera — two correspondents and three cameramen — were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, Al Jazeera and international news agencies reported. The Qatari outlet claims the strike deliberately targeted the journalists, AFP reported, cited by BTA.

At the same time, the Israeli army announced it had killed Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al Sharif, a 28-year-old reporter in Gaza.

According to the Israeli military, al-Sharif headed a Hamas “terrorist cell” and was responsible for rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and military personnel, the Israeli forces said in a statement.

Human rights groups, however, said he was targeted because of his frontline reporting on the war in Gaza and that Israel’s claim had not been proven. A press freedom organization and a UN expert had earlier warned that al-Sharif’s life was at risk due to his coverage from Gaza. Last month, UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan stated that Israel’s allegations against him were unfounded, Reuters reported.

The other slain journalists were identified by Al Jazeera as its correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa. They were killed in a strike on a tent near al-Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Reuters said. A hospital employee said two other people were also killed in the strike.

Capital also leads with a story about the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Israeli government has approved an expanded new military offensive in Gaza that will lead to the full reoccupation of the enclave. The decision came despite army warnings that renewed fighting could endanger the lives of hostages, as well as amid international outrage over the Palestinian civilian death toll.

The operation will begin with the gradual capture by Israeli forces of the ruins of Gaza City over the course of several months, followed by the establishment of a “civil administration for the entire enclave,” marking the start of a new occupation of Gaza, The Financial Times reported.