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The Bulgarian authorities reacted with delay in the case of the Bulgarian investigative journalist Hristo Grozev.

This was commented for BTA by the former ambassador of Bulgaria in Moscow, Iliyan Vassilev, who is currently the chairman of the "Alternatives and Analyzes" board, and Irina Nedava, the chairman of the Association of European Journalists in Bulgaria (AEJ).

The two consider the main reason for the inclusion of the journalist Hristo Grozev in the list of wanted persons by the Russian government to be the investigations of the "Belingcat" website, related to the disclosure of the tragedy with the downed Asia Minor plane, the "Skripal" and "Navalni" cases and the entry into the war in Ukraine in an increasingly difficult stage. 

Donev: We are in contact with Hristo Grozev even before the news about his search became a hot news topic

While for Iliyan Vassilev, Moscow's move to include Grozev in the list of wanted persons shows weakness, for the chairman of the AEZ, what Bulgaria should do is to request the removal of Grozev from this list.

 Both analysts share their disappointment with the debate in our country related to Grozev's biography. 

"The war is entering increasingly difficult stages, and Moscow is looking for ways to close its information loopholes. One of them is related to the actions of the Bellingcat site, which did a lot not only to reveal the tragedy with the Asia Minor plane, but also to the cases " Skripal", "Navalni", as well as their work in the course of the war itself, related to information about the targets of the Russian army", said Iliyan Vassilev. 

"This move by Moscow is very weak. It betrays nervousness and weakness rather than a well-thought-out decision.

It is a move to intimidate not only Hristo, but also all others who work in this field," Vassilev is emphatic.

The analyst pointed out that the journalist Hristo Grozev has long been persona non grata in the Russian Federation and highlighted his concerns about the specific case.

Until the war, Russian special services did not conduct wet operations against citizens of other countries abroad.

After the war, however, this is no longer the case, Vassilev commented.

he said and added that our country reacts like a security company, instead of reducing the danger and the perimeter of action of the Russian services on the territory of Bulgaria. 

According to him, the summoning of Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on duty.

"I would call her immediately, regardless of whether it is a day off or not, to express precisely through my urgent reaction the intolerance of this behavior of the Russian authorities. They call her on a working day, in the afternoon, when it is convenient for her. This is not a message , which she will understand as a protest from our side," Vasilev commented.  

Mitrofanova: It is not known what the specific accusation against Hristo Grozev is

The reaction of the institutions is verbal, but the real reaction is in the measures that will be taken to narrow the perimeter of action of the Russian services,

he added.

"The reactions of many people who call themselves journalists infuriate me. In this case it is not important whether Hristo is perfect according to their understanding, in this case it is important that our fellow citizen is under threat. He who understands Russia knows that this threat is not only virtual, this threat is real," Vassilev also said and added that instead of human solidarity and empathy in this difficult moment, the comments are looking for Christ's sins. 

The AEJ called on the Bulgarian authorities to take action on the Grozev case and appealed to the Prosecutor's Office to provide up-to-date information on the development of all investigations into the "Bellingcat" revelations

, namely the actions of GRU agents on Bulgarian territory, the attempted murder of businessman Emilian Gebrev.

The chairperson of AEJ, Irina Nedeva, was categorical that a European country should oppose such inclusion in a list of innocent persons.  

Many journalists are serving sentences, we also know about this fake news law, with which the Kremlin interprets any information related to the Russian army.

Russia is in an active war and we have enough reasons to believe that the recent investigations of "Belingcat" and the activities of Hristo Grozev caused a similar reaction from the Russian Federation, commented Nedeva.

According to her, although belated, it is important that the reaction of the Bulgarian authorities is not formal. 

The reaction of the state institutions - that is, the official cabinet and the head of state, was late

, commented Nedeva and added that the days after Christmas are not holidays in Russia and nothing has prevented such a situation, which could potentially threaten the security of a Bulgarian citizen , to have a more categorical and urgent intervention, rather than summoning the Russian ambassador four days later. 

Still, better late than never.

Our call was to oppose, that is, not just to formally demand information about why, what was the reason for his inclusion in this list, but in practice for the state to insist on the removal of Hristo Grozev's name from such a list, explained the chairman of the AEZ.

Certainly, the major international journalistic organizations will not leave this case without attention.

It is really very important to see that the state is in place, she added. 

Nedeva also said that there are various ways in which the security of Hristo Grozev can be guaranteed.

We have heard that he has received offers of protection from Austria, the country where he lives.

That is, there is some awareness at the service level that this kind of inclusion in such a list can be understood as a green light for a physical attempt against him, the chairman of the AEJ pointed out.

It is really important not just to show the Euro-Atlantic orientation of one or another political party, but to actually realize that this is something serious enough, Nedeva said.

She did not hide her disappointment regarding the comments related to Grozev's biography and added that the topic of who is Hristo Grozev is liked by the Russian-language publications, which with similar type of writings are trying to divert attention from the "Bellingcat" investigations in recent years.  

Ivan Geshev: Bulgaria respects the main European values

AEJ insists that the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office present up-to-date information on Grozev's investigations related to the attempts to poison Emilian Gebrev, because it is extremely important not just for the chief prosecutor to declare his Euro-Atlantic orientation, but to have clarity on where these investigations have reached.

Iliyan Vassilev

Hristo Grozev