SOFIA - A Bulgarian man has been detained
in Germany and charged with the rape and murder of television
journalist Viktoria Marinova, Bulgarian officials said on
Wednesday.
The suspect was arrested on Tuesday at the request of
Bulgaria, Interior Minister Mladen Marinov told reporters at a
briefing attended by Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov and Prime
Minister Boyko Borissov.
Bulgarian authorities were expecting Germany to transfer him
to their territory, Marinov said.
The body of the 30-year-old journalist, who police said had
been raped, beaten and suffocated, was found on Saturday.
On her last TV show, on Sept. 30, Marinova introduced two
journalists who were investigating suspected corruption
involving EU funds and said her own show, "Detector", on local
television station NTV, would carry out similar investigations.
Her death has angered many in Bulgaria, where people are
frustrated with corruption and an inefficient judiciary that has
been criticised by the European Commission.
The suspect was identified as 21-year-old Severin
Krasimirov.
Chief prosecutor Tsatsarov told the news conference that he
could not say at this stage if the murder was linked to
Marinova's work as a journalist. The collected evidence so far
pointed to a spontaneous attack and sexual assault, he said.
"We have collected a lot of evidence which for the time
being suggests that the person is guilty. He has been charged in
absence for two crimes - rape and premeditated murder with
extreme cruelty," Tsatsarov said.
"We cannot state at this point that her murder is linked to
her professional activity. We are continuing to work on all
possible options."