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RUSE, Bulgaria (AP) – News on the murder of a journalist in Bulgaria (all local times):
8:10 p.m.
A senior Bulgarian police official said the authorities were going to release a man in police custody. He will not be charged with the murder of a journalist who has highlighted alleged corruption of the government.
Teodor Atanasov, the chief police officer of the city of Ruse, in the north of the country, told reporters Tuesday that the man, who had not been identified, would be released "very soon ". He declined to provide more details about the ongoing investigation.
The body of Viktoria Marinova was found Saturday, deposited near the Danube. Marinova, 30, hosted a program last month featuring two investigative journalists arrested for their work on alleged fraud involving European funds.
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7:45 p.m.
An American group of freedom of expression has called for a thorough and rapid investigation into the murder of Bulgarian TV journalist Viktoria Marinova.
PEN America said Tuesday that "horrible rape and murder (…) require an immediate, rigorous and independent investigation."
According to the newspaper, if evidence revealed that she had been murdered because of her investigative work, "she would be the last European journalist" killed while she was trying to shed light on Corruption ".
Police are investigating the rape and murder of 30-year-old Marinova, whose strangled body was found on Saturday near the Danube. Last month, Marinova hosted a program featuring two investigative journalists arrested for their work on alleged fraud involving funds from the European Union.
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17:30.
The Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior said that senior investigators had been tasked with solving the "brutal" murder of a Bulgarian journalist.
The minister said that a "Romanian national of Ukrainian origin" had been arrested on Tuesday and that further prosecutions were pending.
The body of the 30-year-old TV journalist Viktoria Marinova, who exposed possible government corruption, was found on Saturday near the Danube River.
Interior Minister Mladen Marinov and the chief investigator of Bulgarian organized crime Ivaylo Spiridonov are part of the investigation team.
The ministry says "the team continues to work actively to solve the brutal crime."
Last month, Marinova hosted a program featuring two investigative journalists arrested for their work on alleged fraud involving funds from the European Union.
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3:20 p.m.
A senior officer of the Bulgarian police confirmed that a man had been arrested for the murder of a journalist who had brought to light an alleged corruption of the government.
Teodor Atanasov, the chief police officer of the northern city of Ruse, said on Tuesday that the police were holding a man for 24 hours to interrogate him. He identified the individual as "a Romanian citizen of Ukrainian origin" and stated that the man had not been officially declared suspect.
The body of Viktoria Marinova was found Saturday, thrown near the Danube. Marinova, 30, hosted a show last month featuring two investigative journalists arrested for their work on alleged fraud involving EU funds.
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3:15 p.m.
Bulgarian national radio announced the arrest of a suspect in connection with the murder of Bulgarian TV journalist Viktoria Marinova, whose body was found while she was thrown after have revealed the possibility of government corruption.
Tuesday's report said that according to unconfirmed information from the Ministry of the Interior, the suspect is "a Romanian citizen holding a passport to Moldova".
No other information was immediately available.
Prosecutors announced last Monday that they had opened an investigation into the alleged use of EU funds, while police were investigating the rape and murder of Marinova, whose the strangled body was found Saturday and deposited near the Danube. Marinova, 30, hosted a show last month featuring two investigative journalists arrested for their work on alleged fraud involving EU funds.
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1:15 p.m.
Bulgarian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the alleged misuse of funds from the European Union, following the brutal murder of a television journalist who had brought to light a possible corruption of the government.
The Interior Ministry announced the investigation Monday night. TV journalist Viktoria Marinova, whose strangled body was found on Saturday, hosted a program last month during which the online investigation site Bivol.bg reported fraud related to European funds.
The ministry said prosecutors were examining the GP group, the construction company that allegedly abused EU funds, and froze 14 million euros of its assets.
Meanwhile, the police are investigating the rape and murder of Marinova, 30, whose body was thrown near the Danube.
She was director of TVN, a television channel in Ruse, and a television presenter for two investigative programs.
