Bulgaria: Deutsche Welle Reporter Obstructed By Police And Insulted By Anti-EU Party – CFWIJ Calls On Authorities To Act

Location: Bulgaria, Sofia
Date: February 10, 2023

Emilia Milcheva verbally attacked by pro-Russian and anti-EU party Revival. She was labeled a “provocateur” and “sniff” after article on the party’s campaigners. While reporting, Bulgarian police gave her a warning without cause. The Coalition For Women In Journalism calls for political parties to stop targeting and insulting media who cover them. Reporting on political campaigns is in the public interest. Journalists should be free to work without being lambasted by political leaders or obstructed by police. 

Harassment and police interference

On February 8, Emilia Milcheva published a report on Deutsche Welle Bulgaria about campaigners’ efforts to gather signatures for a referendum against joining the European Union monetary zone (Eurozone). The day before, Milcheva was reporting at the campaign event at a public underpass in Sofia when police were called. Activists were irritated that Milcheva was documenting the signature collection and pressured her to delete photos she had taken. They threatened Milcheva with a lawsuit if photos were published. Police informed her she was violating public order by filming the event and she was given a warning.

On the incident, the Association for European Journalists Bulgaria (AEJ Bulgaria) said, “An underpass is a public place, and signing a referendum (petition) is a public interest event, where participants are assumed to be implicitly consenting to be the subject of media coverage. Cases in which law enforcement agencies prevent journalists from doing their jobs are a gross overreach by the police and a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press.”

Insults aimed at Milcheva from Revival political party

At a press conference on February 9, Revival’s party secretary Deyan Nikolov said their signature campaign was being “attacked by provocateurs”. He accused Milcheva of working for the “Snitch Bulgaria party” (opposition political party Democratic Bulgaria) and of photographing people’s data. Nikolov alleged that the journalist was sent to try to “extract personal data, break the law, and then write some scumbag in some American media”. 

Emilia Milcheva is a seasoned reporter who works for the Bulgarian editorial office of Deutsche Welle, the TV news show The Questions on TV1, and is a regular contributor to EURACTIV.com. She briefly worked for political party Yes Bulgaria's PR department in 2017 but returned to journalism after four months. She has been described by colleague Joanna Elmy as an old-guard journalist who talks to people on the ground and rigorously fact-checks. Deutsche Welle said that it “rejects and refutes the claims of Revival and firmly stands behind its long-time author Emilia Milcheva”.

Today in #Bulgaria, my colleague #journalist Emilia Milcheva was attacked by representatives of the far-right Revival party. The pro-Russian radicals are currently waging a campaign against the euro, and Emilia decided to report. She’s an old guard professional, on the ground…1/

— Joanna Elmy (@joannaelmy) February 9, 2023

Revival and their campaign

Leader of Revival, Kostadin Kostadinov, has previously come under fire for insulting and harassing journalists in Bulgaria. According to RFERL, Revival has proved itself cyber-savvy in whipping up opposition to COVID-19 restrictions and vaccines, ultimately propelling the party into parliament in 2021. With the pandemic behind it, the party "is now using the same channels to propagate pro-Russian propaganda," the Bulgarian news site Kapital Insights wrote.

The Revival party began collecting signatures, “for the preservation of the Bulgarian lev” and against the country’s membership in the Eurozone in January 2023. It claims it has gathered half of the required number of signatures needed for a mandatory national referendum. Its leader Kostadinov said adopting the euro could lead to “civil war” in Bulgaria. As the poorest country in the European Union, Bulgarian society is skeptical about joining the Euro because of high inflation. Revival is using the issue and the postponement of its adoption, to increase its political weight ahead of April’s parliamentary election.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is concerned by the harassment of Emilia Milcheva. She is an experienced reporter who should be free to cover political events without intimidation and police interference. The attempts by Revival to damage her reputation as a journalist are unacceptable. We call on Bulgarian authorities to ensure that journalists can operate without obstruction and for political parties to stop insulting journalists who report their activities. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.