Bulgarian Prime Minister expected to make announcement on slain journalist after new arrest in Germany

Update: A man has been detained in Germany in connection with Viktoria Marinova’s murder, Bulgaria’s top prosecutor said. He is being charged in absence with rape and murder. The man was known to police for petty crime, including theft of metal.

The chief prosecutor added he cannot say at this stage if the murder was linked to journalist’s work.

Earlier:

German authorities have arrested a fresh suspect tied to the murder of Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova, according to media reports. The TV reporter’s body was found in a park on Saturday in the town of Ruse.

On Tuesday, police in Ruse arrested a Romanian citizen in connection with the murder, but later released him without charge due to a lack of concrete evidence.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is scheduled to hold a press conference early on Wednesday where he is expected to confirm details of the arrest of suspect tied to the murder of Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova. The man, described as a Bulgarian national between the ages of 20 and 30, had left Bulgaria on Sunday for Germany, where his mother is believed to live.

News of the arrest first appeared on the website of Bulgaria’s 168 Chasa newspaper late on Tuesday.

The man, described as a Bulgarian national between the ages of 20 and 30, had left Bulgaria on Sunday for Germany, where his mother is believed to live.

Local television station TVN, where Marinova was employed, later reported the suspect and Marinova had not known each other.

bTV, another Bulgarian broadcaster, claimed that police had found the journalist’s mobile phone in the suspect’s apartment in the northern town of Ruse.

German authorities have so far declined to confirm the arrest.

DW