Strategic lawsuits against public participation (or SLAPPs) are increasingly being used to intimidate journalists into withholding, amending, or removing critical coverage, even when the information i...
Maria Cheresheva
Maria Cheresheva is a Bulgarian journalist and freedom of speech advocate. She was sued by a Bulgarian arms dealer for a 2017 investigation into an arms pipeline providing weapons from the Balkans to war-torn Syria, published by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. Although the investigation was written by an international team of journalists, Maria was the only one taken to court in Sofia (Bulgaria) and was sued for damages of 25000 euros. The lawsuit took over 3 years, ending with a settlement. It is one of a series of SLAPPs against journalists in Bulgaria, where various forms of pressure against independent media and investigative journalism are widespread.
