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SOFIA, Bulgaria – A man has been arrested in Germany and charged with raping and murdering a Bulgarian journalist, the Bulgarian authorities said on Wednesday, saying there was no indication that she had been killed in because of his work.
The man suspected of assaulting and killing the journalist, Viktoria Marinova, was identified as Severin Krasimirov, 20 years old and having a small criminal history, who escaped after the attack. attack, officials said. Ms. Marinova was the host of a cable television show.
Bulgarian Attorney General Sotir Tsatsarov said: "It looks like a random attack of sexual assault". He described the murder of Ms. Marinova, who had been severely beaten, as "extremely brutal and cruel".
Last year, two other journalists, Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta and Jan Kuciak in Slovakia, were killed because of their work denouncing corruption, and journalists from several countries were subjected to threats and restrictions. increased freedom of the press. The fear that the assassination of Ms. Marinova, aged 30, may have been linked to her work has contributed to enormous international pressure on Bulgaria, European and US officials, media monitoring groups, and Others have demanded that the authorities bring the murderer to justice.
European Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic urged governments to improve the safety of journalists, especially women. Ms. Marinova's assassination "takes advantage of the reality of women journalists facing additional threats because they are women, and sends another signal that should prompt governments to take effective and immediate measures for the safety of journalists in Europe, "said Ms Mijatovic. said Monday.
But from the beginning, Bulgarian officials questioned the idea of a larger motive behind the death of Ms. Marinova, saying there was no apparent evidence to link crime to her work, that her keys to The car and cell phone had been taken, and the killer had left behind a lot of DNA evidence.
His body was found Saturday in the bushes near the Danube in Ruse, a small town in northern Bulgaria.
Officials said that Mr. Krasimirov, who did not seem to know Ms. Marinova, was living in Ruse, near the area where his body had been found, and that he had a criminal record for scrap theft.
"There is enough evidence to link it to the crime scene and to the victim," Bulgarian Interior Minister Mladen Marinov told reporters in the capital Sofia. "We found the victim's DNA traces on his clothes, as well as his DNA on the body of the victim."
Mr Krasimirov, who was drinking heavily before the attack, waited for his victim near the Ruse walk along the Danube, where Ms Marinova had gone running on Saturday morning, officials said. They said that he had hit her in the head and dragged her around.
He was charged in absentia with rape and murder committed with extreme cruelty, which may result in a maximum term of life imprisonment.
Krasimirov fled to Germany on Sunday, where German police are tracking him in three different states, Bulgarian authorities said. He was arrested by German officers at the request of Sofia and is awaiting an extradition hearing.
The crime fueled outrage in Bulgaria, where many people expressed frustration with regard to widespread corruption and declare that they do not trust the forces of order and the judicial system. Although the country joined the European Union in 2007, it has often been criticized for making little progress in fighting high profile corruption or reforming its judicial system.
On Tuesday, the police again closed the crime scene after family members and friends of Ms. Marinova announced that they were going to search the area for evidence, expressing their disappointment. slow progress of the investigation. In the evening, dozens of people ran along the Danube for five kilometers until the place where his body was found, and asked for police patrols and the installation of video cameras. security along the river promenade.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov expressed his dissatisfaction with the international pressure on the government to solve the crime, while the gruesome murder hit the headlines around the world.
"In the past three days, I have read a lot of monstrous things about Bulgaria and none of them was true," Borisov told reporters in Sofia. He pleaded with them to use their influence responsibly.
Bulgaria has press freedom index of Reporters Without Borders.
Shortly before her assassination, Ms. Marinova started to host a new news program. His first episode included an interview with two investigative journalists who were investigating an alleged embezzlement from the European Union and who were briefly arrested in September by Bulgarian police while they were trying to prevent the destruction of documents.
Melissa Eddy contributed to reports from Berlin.
