Bodyguard of parliament speaker Dotsova shoves journalist to the ground

An officer of Bulgaria's National Service for Protection (NSO) shoved a journalist to the ground in Sofia on Thursday evening. According to Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and the news site Mediapool, the incident happened outside the headquarters of the ruling Progressive Bulgaria party on Hristo Botev Boulevard, after a meeting of the party's executive bureau and a statement by Prime Minister Rumen Radev. Sonya K., a reporter for the PIK news agency, tried to put a question to parliament speaker Mihaela Dotsova as she got into her official car and opened the already closed door. A bodyguard pushed her away and she fell backwards onto the pavement. The motorcade drove off. Video of the incident spread quickly on social media.

An ambulance took the journalist to the Military Medical Academy (VMA). The hospital said the patient had been examined and discharged for treatment at home, declining further details on grounds of medical confidentiality. The NSO ordered an immediate review, pledged “the strictest measures” if wrongdoing was found and notified the military prosecutor's office. The officer went there voluntarily late in the evening to give testimony; according to BNT, he was led out of the building in handcuffs shortly after midnight.

Dotsova tried to visit the journalist at the VMA, but she had already left; Dotsova then went to the military prosecutor's office. “I express my deepest regret for what happened,” she said, calling the incident “absolutely unacceptable.” She said she would ask the NSO director for the strictest measures. President Iliana Yotova, to whom the service reports, condemned the officer's “unacceptable and excessive reaction” and called for swift results from the review.