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Sat, Feb 11 2012
Names of former state security agents in Bulgaria's print media revealed
The committee for opening the files of the communist-era secret services has announced the names of agents of the former State Security in Bulgarian print media.
Among those listed were several well-known individuals, including the editor of Bulgarian daily Trud, Toshko Toshev, the former editor of Bulgarian daily 24Chasa, Valeri Naidenov, and 24Chasa journalist Alekseniya Dimitrova.
Others revealed to have been secret service agents were Dimitri Ivanov and Svetoslav Terziev, both commentators for Bulgarian daily Sega and considered close to left-wing sociologist and analyst Yuri Aslanov, as well as 24Chasa commentator Pencho Kovachev.
Among the journalists checked were 42 journalists from the Economedia publishing group, publisher of Bulgarian daily Dnevnik and weekly newspaper Capital, and the majority partner in Sofia Echo Media, the publishers of The Sofia Echo. None were found to have been agents of the former secret services, Bulgarian daily Dnevnik said.
Toshev, currently owner of Media Holding PLC and its director since 1997, worked for Sofia City Management for the Interior Ministry under the Secret Services since 1975 and was assigned the codename Bor.
Valeri Naidenov was revealed to have been agent Sasho, while Alekseniya Dimitrova had worked as agent Vladimir for the Sixth Department.
Deputy editor-in-chief of Bulgarian daily Klassa, Evgeni Donchev, and for daily Zemya (Earth), Goran Gotev, were also listed, along with Zemya's owner Dimitar Ivanov and Zemya's political commentator, Chavdar Dobrev.
Among the names revealed was the editor of the Frog News website, Ognyan Stefanov, who was part of a team of 24Chasa. In 2008 he was attacked and beaten by unknown assailants in front of a school in Sofia. Stefanov operated under the codename Academic.
A total of 328 persons from 20 publications were screened, including the publications' owners, directors, deputy directors, editors-in-chief, deputy chief editors, members of editorial boards, political commentators and editors of subsections in the printed editions.
In total, the names of 36 journalists were revealed as former collaborators.
The commission said they had not found former state security agents among employees of newspapers Express, Starshel, Pzovanete and magazine Tema.
Eighty persons were excluded from screening because they had either died or were of an age that would have excluded the possibility of their being recruited by the secret police.
Among those listed were several well-known individuals, including the editor of Bulgarian daily Trud, Toshko Toshev, the former editor of Bulgarian daily 24Chasa, Valeri Naidenov, and 24Chasa journalist Alekseniya Dimitrova.
Others revealed to have been secret service agents were Dimitri Ivanov and Svetoslav Terziev, both commentators for Bulgarian daily Sega and considered close to left-wing sociologist and analyst Yuri Aslanov, as well as 24Chasa commentator Pencho Kovachev.
Among the journalists checked were 42 journalists from the Economedia publishing group, publisher of Bulgarian daily Dnevnik and weekly newspaper Capital, and the majority partner in Sofia Echo Media, the publishers of The Sofia Echo. None were found to have been agents of the former secret services, Bulgarian daily Dnevnik said.
Toshev, currently owner of Media Holding PLC and its director since 1997, worked for Sofia City Management for the Interior Ministry under the Secret Services since 1975 and was assigned the codename Bor.
Valeri Naidenov was revealed to have been agent Sasho, while Alekseniya Dimitrova had worked as agent Vladimir for the Sixth Department.
Deputy editor-in-chief of Bulgarian daily Klassa, Evgeni Donchev, and for daily Zemya (Earth), Goran Gotev, were also listed, along with Zemya's owner Dimitar Ivanov and Zemya's political commentator, Chavdar Dobrev.
Among the names revealed was the editor of the Frog News website, Ognyan Stefanov, who was part of a team of 24Chasa. In 2008 he was attacked and beaten by unknown assailants in front of a school in Sofia. Stefanov operated under the codename Academic.
A total of 328 persons from 20 publications were screened, including the publications' owners, directors, deputy directors, editors-in-chief, deputy chief editors, members of editorial boards, political commentators and editors of subsections in the printed editions.
In total, the names of 36 journalists were revealed as former collaborators.
The commission said they had not found former state security agents among employees of newspapers Express, Starshel, Pzovanete and magazine Tema.
Eighty persons were excluded from screening because they had either died or were of an age that would have excluded the possibility of their being recruited by the secret police.
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Haha, Peter and the others... do you really think this is news? Owners of media... these are influential people with expensive lifestyles. They have houses in the EU and USA, and will have the job of the embassy workers that denies them entry. They are very good taxpayers to those countries anyway, they just cheat in Bulgaria.
They kept their dirty secrets secret for a reason! So many former communist agents now in positions of power and influence. No wonder the country is riddled with corruption.
Someone should publish the names of all individuals identified as agents of DS, who after that entered thwe filed of journalism -
printed and spoken on TV.
I am glad that you published this information and I hope it will be reprinted by foreign media. I hope also that the countries from EU and the USA will take measures to refuse entry of this agents on their soil. The rest doesn't need comment...