A security guard from the municipality of Venets attacked journalist Diana Zhelyazkova from “For the Truth” today (July 31) with threats and insults, effectively attempting to obstruct the performance of her duties while covering the local Municipal Council’s activities. The incident took place in the foyer of the municipality in the presence of staff, village mayors from the municipality, and councilors exiting from the recently concluded session.
Early in the Municipal Council meeting, the security guard, Deniz Yunuz, refused to allow the reporter from “For the Truth,” Diana Zhelyazkova, into the room where the sessions were taking place. Yunuz did not accept the explanation that under current legislation, the sessions of Municipal Councils are open not only to journalists but to all citizens who wish to attend. “You cannot enter without permission,” the guard stated, asking specifically for authorization from the mayor of Venets, Nehriban Ahmedova, to allow a journalist into the room. Later on, Zhelyazkova was able to attend the session.
The municipality of Venets has declared on its website that it is the “most transparent” in the Shumen region. Yet, it turns out to be problematic for journalists to attend a Municipal Council session there. Minutes after the session, Zhelyazkova was confronted by the municipality’s security guard, Deniz Yunuz, who shouted at her and displayed unprovoked aggression that could have escalated into physical violence. From the subsequent accusations, it became clear that Yunuz disliked the critical reports of the journalist regarding the local government’s work in the DPS-dominated municipality of Venets.
“Don’t you have anything else to write about, that you only write about Venets?” the guard said. “You only write nonsense about the municipality!” The situation continued with further insults directed at the journalist, while local mayors and councilors stood by indifferently, seemingly accepting the guard’s behavior as normal. After Yunuz’s actions clearly indicated an intention to resort to physical violence against the reporter from “For the Truth,” it was only the intervention of a municipal employee, who pulled him by his shirt and literally stood between him and the journalist, that prevented a physical altercation.
However, Yunuz’s shouting and insults did not cease; on the contrary, they became increasingly aggressive, even when the reporter warned that she would seek help by calling 112. “You really frightened me, call whoever you want!” he responded, but then he hid when Zhelyazkova took out her phone to film him.
At the session in Venets – entry only with permission
In the room where the session of the local Municipal Council was held, the reporter from “For the Truth” was attacked by the mayor of the village of Bortsi for “daring” to move around the room and take photos. “You can’t go wherever you want!” shouted Mayor Bahri Husein. After the reporter responded that the Municipal Council room is publicly accessible and that journalists have the right to take photos there, Bahri Husein exclaimed, “You’re just annoying people!” and then ordered her to stand “back there!”
Throughout this entire time, the councilors and other village mayors, as well as the mayor of Venets, Nehriban Ahmedova, and the chairman of the municipal council, Suleiman Suleimanov, remained completely silent. The mayor of Bortsi only calmed down when the reporter from “For the Truth” insistently asked him in what capacity he was issuing orders in the Municipal Council chamber.
Village mayors in the municipality of Venets traditionally wield more power than the municipal councilors, even though, by law, it is supposed to be the opposite. In Venets, the village mayors, almost all from DPS, openly and unabashedly “direct” the meetings of the Municipal Council. The mayors react against anyone who dares to question the municipality’s mayor. Opposition councilors are typically targeted, as they are the only ones who pose questions and disrupt the “calm” in the chamber.
It is perhaps not surprising that the municipal guard Deniz Yunuz, along with the village mayors, repeatedly directed aggressive remarks at Diana Zhelyazkova: “What are you doing in Venets all the time! You come here on Saturdays and Sundays! You can’t just walk around the municipality as you please!”
After no one from the administration attempted to stop the aggressive employee, Zhelyazkova reported the incident by calling 112. A police investigation has been initiated regarding the case, and security guard Deniz Yunuz has signed a warning protocol issued by the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Shumen.
