Screenshot from bTV video
The leader of the radical pro-Russian party “Vazrazhdane” Kostadin Kostadinov tried to expel journalists from a press conference in Sofia on Wednesday.
Kostadinov had invited the journalists to comment on the election results of his party and the political situation in the country after the vote.
At the start of the meeting, Kostadinov announced that he had no desire to “share a room” with journalists from the Bulgarian media Capital, Dnevnik, Club Z and Mediapool, respected media that are regularly cited by European institutions.
Kostadinov said they are not media, but foreign agents of influence, because they use foreign donors for funding.
“Our morals, principles and values do not allow us to communicate with such yellow-brown sewers of the American embassy,” Kostadinov said and asked the journalists to leave or he would end the press conference.
When they refused, he ended the conference and went to speak to other media outside.
The Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria (AEJ) called on journalists to boycott Kostadinov and for solidarity against attempts by politicians to pressure and insult journalists.
Last year, Bulgaria climbed 21 places in the Reporters Without Borders ranking (to 91st place), which happened immediately after businessman and DPS MP Delyan Peevski gave up his media business. For years, Peevski has been waging a media war with the same media that Kostadinov is now targeting.
English text by Euractiv
