Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) in a letter to Rumen Radev, President of Bulgaria has expressed deep concern over the horrific murder of Victoria Marinova, journalist of local TV channel TVN.

PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali in his letter, has called on the Bulgarian authorities to immediately identify and hold those responsible for this brutal murder of the journalist.

According to South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM), the body of Victoria was found on October 6 in a park by the River Danube in the northern town of Ruse. The journalist was allegedly raped, beaten and strangulated. She was beaten so violently that her face was unrecognizable and was identified later.

Since 2017, Victoria is the fourth journalist killed in the EU along with Jan Kuciak in Slovakia, Kim Wall in Denmark and Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta.

The regional prosecutor of Ruse, Georgui Georguiev stated that the death of journalist was caused by blows on the head and suffocation. He added that the mobile phone, glasses, car keys and some part of her clothes were missing from the spot.

Victoria recently started the current affairs programme called “Detector” for TVN. She was also an administrative director of the channel.

The last episode of her programme broadcasted on September 30, in that episode she interviewed Bulgarian journalist Dimitar Stoyanov of Bivol website and Romanian journalist Attila Biro, member of the RISE Romania research journalism project.

Both Stoyanov and Biro were arrested by Bulgarian police on 13 September 2018 while investigating the destruction of documents allegedly revealing corrupt practices by a private road construction company, suspected of carrying out scams with European funds.