UN Head Bokova Condemns Bulgarian Reporter's Murder

The victim Bobi Tsankov was killed in central Sofia in broad daylight and two other men were wounded. Photo by BGNES

A senior UN official has urged the Bulgarian government to find the killers of Bobi Tsankov, who was shot dead on a busy Sofia street.

“It seems clear that he [Tsankov] was targeted because he was revealing information about criminal activities. Such a brazen attack jeopardizes freedom of expression and freedom of the press, rights that are basic and essential to ensure a democratic society,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in a statement published on the site of the organizaiton.

The 30-year-old Mr. Tsankov was killed on 5 January when two unidentified gunmen opened fire on him and two other men, identified as his bodyguards, at noontime on the busy Aleksandur Stamboliiski Boulevard in Sofia. There had been previous attempts on his life.

Since September of last year, Mr. Tsankov had written a series of articles in the newspaper Weekend detailing the activities of alleged crime bosses. He had also published a book in December entitled “The Secrets of Gangsters” and, according to press reports, was planning a new book about drug trafficking.

Tsankov is a very controversial figure, against whom several lawsuits for embezzlement had been filed. According to local analysts Tsankov was not just a chronicler of the Bulgarian underworld but someone who enjoyed inhabiting it.

Ye the killing has been widely seen as a blow for Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, a center-right leader who has made his ability to fight organized crime a critical test of his government.

In 2008 there were more than 125 contract killings in Bulgaria, according to a list compiled by the United States Embassy there.

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