site.btaUnion of Bulgarian Journalists Urges PM Denkov to Give Information on Expelled Russian Journalist
![Union of Bulgarian Journalists Urges PM Denkov to Give Information on Expelled Russian Journalist](/upload/3043261/spy-1_70154.jpg?l=1000)
![Union of Bulgarian Journalists Urges PM Denkov to Give Information on Expelled Russian Journalist](/upload/3043261/spy-1_70154.jpg?l=1000&original=023842dc3eae859a41d8f52832a0eda55839f9c3)
The Union of Bulgarian Journalists (UBJ) has called on Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and the government to provide detailed information on the case of expelled Russian journalist Alexandr Gatsak. On Wednesday, the State Agency for National Security (SANS) said that it has expelled Gatsak, the Sofia correspondent of Rossiyskaya Gazeta, as a national security threat.
Gatsak is the first foreign journalist expelled from Bulgaria on such serious charges since the end of communism in Bulgaria in 1989. The authorities therefore owe the public very detailed information on the case, UBJ said.
Although the case was publicly commented on by PM Denkov, he did not say on what basis the decision was made. Apparently, Denkov believes that the public and journalists are obliged to take his word alone as prime minister and stop asking questions afterwards, UBJ’s statement also reads.
It is also disturbing that in the Gatsak case, and earlier when priests from the Russian Church in Sofia were expelled on similar charges, PM Denkov perceived SANS reports as unconditional truth. At the same time, when SANS alerted about a government official who took actions undermining the security of machine voting, Denkov criticized SANS and accused it of conspiracy. When and who should be trusted with this double standard, UBJ asks.
UBJ also asks why the Bulgarian government does not disclose the SANS information, on which Russian citizens have been expelled from Bulgaria, both the priests and the journalist.
Another important question is why persons with such serious charges are expelled and not subjected to transparent trials, which would best correspond to the norms of a state governed by the rule of law, UBJ’s position further reads.
"The usual excuse that the information has not been disclosed because such topics concern the national security has not been sounding convincing for a long time now, both at Bulgarian and international level. Let us recall that attempts by some EU countries to adjust the new European Media Freedom Act so that it allows loopholes for attacks against journalists or media, disguised as national security motivations, were rejected by the European Parliament”, UBJ added.
/NZ/
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