The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has summoned for next Thursday the Russian ambassador to Sofia, Eleonora Mitrofanova, in protest against Moscow’s decision to issue an arrest warrant against prominent Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev.
Grozev, who specializes in investigative work, was included in the list of persons wanted by the Russian Interior Ministry on charges of «violating an article of the Russian Criminal Code», presumably one related to alleged defamation of the work of the Armed Forces in the framework of the war in Ukraine.
Reactions soon followed one after another in Bulgaria and several political representatives came forward. For its part, the National Prosecutor’s Office warned Russia not to prosecute the journalist for simply carrying out his investigative work.
According to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, Mitrofanova will also be asked to explain Moscow’s decision to ban the Bulgarian language in the Ukrainian regions annexed at the end of September – Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporiyia – according to BNT national television.
According to Bulgarian diplomacy, the pro-Russian authorities imposed by the Kremlin in these southern and eastern Ukrainian territories have also ordered the removal of portraits of important figures in Bulgarian history.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
