Bulgarian journalists protest over freedom of speech

SOFIA (Reuters) - Dozens of journalists at the state-run Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) staged a protest on Friday in support of media freedom after a colleague known for her coverage of the country’s graft-prone judicial system was briefly suspended from her job.

The case drew criticism from human rights groups and the Bulgarian branch of the Association of European Journalists, which spoke of a “coup against journalistic professionalism” in a country that has the lowest ranking among the 28 European Union member states for press freedom.

The new head of BNR news, Nikolay Krastev, on Thursday suspended Silvia Velikova, a respected radio anchor and reporter, saying she had violated her contract by urging listeners while on air to join a protest over the appointment of Bulgaria’s next chief prosecutor.