The State Department has published a report on the human rights situation in Bulgaria

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As an example of an attack on journalists from the US State Department, they gave the attack on the editor-in-chief of “168 Hours” Slavi Angelov

Authorities in Bulgaria “have taken steps to prosecute and punish officials who have violated human rights, but government action is insufficient and impunity is a problem.” This is said in the annual US State Department report on the state of human rights in the world.

In the part for Bulgaria from the report, the US State Department reports as serious problems the cases of “police violence, arbitrary arrests, serious problems with the independence of the judiciary, serious restrictions on free expression, including media censorship, violence and threats of violence against journalists.” , corporate and political pressure on the media “and others.

An example of an attack on journalists was the March 17 attack by three masked men on Slavi Angelov, a prominent investigative journalist and editor-in-chief of the 168 Chassa newspaper, in front of his home, who beat him and seriously injured him. On April 23, the chief prosecutor announced Police arrested the alleged attackers, brothers Georgi and Nikola Assenovi and Biser Mitov, and said that “those seeking to destabilize the government are under criminal investigation and are hiding … outside the country” ordered the attack. The pre-trial proceedings continue as of December; one defendant was released on bail, “the report said.

It is reported that the government generally respects freedom of speech, including the press. “However, concerns remain that corporate and political pressures, combined with the growing and non-transparent concentration of media ownership and distribution networks … have significantly damaged media pluralism,” the report said.

The State Department speaks of the impunity of officials in corrupt practices, including bribery, conflict of interest, misappropriation and violations of public procurement rules.

The American diplomacy also notes that in Bulgaria there are no people abducted or killed by the authorities, no political prisoners and in general the judiciary applies the right to a fair and public trial against the accused.

The government did not restrict access to the Internet or censor online content. There are no restrictions on academic freedoms or cultural events. The constitution and law guarantee freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and the government in most cases respects these rights, the document said.