On April 12, 2019, at least two journalists were injured while covering clashes between police and protesters in Gabrovo, a town in central Bulgaria, according to local media reports.
Veselin Tsvetanov, a reporter, and Daniel Stefanov, a cameraman, who both work for Bulgarian internet broadcaster Radio 999, reported that they had been hit by the police while they covered a demonstration, according to those media reports.
Stefanov told Radio 999’s affiliated TV station, TV 999, that that he was hit by a police baton above his left eye and required four stitches, according to a transcript of the interview by Bulgarian news website dir.bg. Tsvetanov was also hit on the head but did not require medical attention, according to Stefanov.
CPJ emailed questions to the press center of the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior, but did not immediately receive a response.
The Gabrovo police chief resigned on April 12 after Prime Minister Boyko Borissov criticized the police for mishandling the protests, according to the Bulgarian News Agency, the country’s public news agency.