US Embassy in Bulgaria issues 'imminent threat' alert for journalist Atanas Tchobanov

It has been reported that a senior official at the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, notified Atanas Tchobanov, an investigative journalist for Bulgarian investigative websites Bivol and BIRD, that there had been an "imminent threat of physical violence" against him, according to news reports​.​

Atanas Tchobanov

Tchobanov said he was threatened with an attack if he returned to Bulgaria. The journalist notified Bulgarian authorities, and the Sofia district prosecutor's office is gathering information on the case​.​

According to Tchobanov, the threat was connected to his BIRD investigation into contracts between a U.S. lobbyist and a former intelligence official from Bulgaria, Delyan Peevski. After he began calling the subjects of that article for comments, he said he received the notification a day later.

The influential Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project highlighted the threat against Tchobanov on Twitter and called for action. "OCCRP is aware of a serious and credible threat directed against the safety of investigative journalist Atanas Tchobanov of our partners," the organization said. "The authorities have been informed and are taking this threat seriously."
The country ranks 111th on the world's list of media freedoms, and journalists there often live in fear. 

* This article contains information sourced from the Committee to Protect Journalists.