Bulgarian parliament speaker’s bodyguard knocks investigative reporter to the ground

An officer from the state security apparatus has physically knocked veteran investigative journalist Sonya Koltuklieva to the pavement outside ruling party headquarters in Sofia, prompting her to be urgently hospitalised.

The incident, on the evening of October 22, has caused cross-party demands for the immediate dismissal of National Assembly Speaker Mihaela Dotsova.

The confrontation took place on Hristo Botev Boulevard immediately following a closed-door meeting of the governing centre-left Progressive Bulgaria party, which Prime Minister Rumen Radev also attended.

Koltuklieva, a prominent reporter for the digital news outlet PIK known for directly questioning public figures in public venues, approached Dotsova as the Speaker moved towards her official motorcade.

Koltuklieva sought to question Dotsova regarding procedural delays in parliamentary hearings concerning President Iliana Yotova, specifically over a controversial presidential pardon issued to a convicted drug trafficker.