In response to the news of the murder of Bulgarian investigative journalist Viktoria Marinova, found dead in the town of Ruse in northern Bulgaria on Saturday, PEN America issued the following statement:

“The horrifying rape and murder of Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova demands an immediate, rigorous, and independent investigation. If there is evidence that the killing was tied to her investigative work, it would make Marinova the third European journalist in the past year to be killed while seeking to shine a light on corruption, following the murders of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta on October 16, 2017 and Jan Kuciak on February 21 of this year. Press freedom is put at grave risk when journalists are murdered; this must be a wake up call for leaders across Europe and around the world to defend and protect the rights of journalists to do their jobs.”

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PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. pen.org

CONTACT: Anoosh Gasparian, External Relations Manager: [email protected]