The National Service for Protection (NSP) officer involved in Thursday’s incident with journalist Sonya Koltuklieva was led out in handcuffs from the Military District Prosecution Office building in Sofia, a BTA reporter saw on Thursday night. The officer was then taken away by the Military Police.
The detention came hours after the NSP announced that an immediate investigation had been ordered into the incident between the officer and a journalist. The NSP said it had reviewed video footage of the incident released by media outlets. The footage shows Koltuklieva, a journalist from PIK news agency, falling onto the pavement after being pushed by an NSP officer as she tried to question Parliament Chair Mihaela Dotsova outside the headquarters of the Progressive Bulgaria party. As the Parliament Chair was getting into a car, Koltuklieva approached her with questions about the cancellation of a parliamentary hearing concerning an alleged drug trafficker pardoned by President Iliana Iotova in her capacity as vice president in 2022. When Dotsova entered the vehicle, the journalist opened the car door and was forcefully pushed away by a security officer, causing her to fall onto the pavement. The officer then got into the car, which drove away with Dotsova inside.
Before the officer’s detention, Koltuklieva exited the building of the Military District Prosecution Office and stated that she had been there for about two and a half hours. She explained to journalists that as she had opened the car door with her phone held high and continued to ask Dotsova a question, a security guard from the NSP had shoved her in the shoulder with force. Examinations at the Military Medical Academy had revealed a fracture in her shoulder.
In Koltuklieva’s words, Dotsova arrived at the Military District Prosecution Office at around 10:10 p.m. and began to express regret, but was actually making excuses, saying that when she left the Progressive Bulgaria headquarters, she got very stressed because she saw only Koltuklieva outside. “I told her to leave, to go away, because nothing she was saying was sincere, and they were trying to make me, the victim, look guilty,” the journalist added.
“It all started right in front of the [Progressive Bulgaria] headquarters. I was in excruciating pain when Progressive Bulgaria Deputy Chair Alexander Neychev approached me and said I had staged a provocation. That really angered me, because you all know that is how I act – I chase after those who will not give me answers,” said Koltuklieva. She noted that, prior to this, she had chased after Nikolay Koprinkov, who had also gotten into his car and driven off.
The footage of the incident shared on social media on Thursday caused strong political reactions and calls by the opposition for Dotsova’s resignation.
Protection Service Officer Detained over Incident Involving Journalist, Parliament Chair 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-22 22:51:00
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