Cablegate: Bulgaria's 2010 Nomination for the Women Of

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TAGS: KWMN PREL PHUM KPAO BG
SUBJECT: BULGARIA'S 2010 NOMINATION FOR THE WOMEN OF
COURAGE AWARD

REF: SECSTATE 111471

1. (U) Post nominates Lidia Pavlova for the 2010 Secretary
of State's Award for International Women of Courage (IWOC)
for her extreme bravery and professionalism in exposing a
powerful organized crime group and rampant political
corruption in Dupnitsa, a town of 40,000 in Southwestern
Bulgaria. Despite significant personal risk, in a series of
published articles, she bravely and meticulously documented
the actions and methods of the Galevi brothers, two of the
alleged leaders of an infamous organized crime group known
for extortion, prostitution, torture, and drug running. By
installing people beholden to them in local government and
brutally racketeering businesses to pay them rent, the two
former commandos completely monopolized the political and
economic life of their hometown. Faced with the local
authorities' complete unwillingness to take any action
against the two de facto mayors of the town, Ms. Pavlova, a
single mother of two sons, felt she had to use her
professional background as a journalist to fight these
untouchable figures.

2. (U) After publishing articles about the actions of the
brothers, she received numerous threats and warnings to stop
her work, and in December 2008 her oldest son was badly
beaten by one of the Galevis' bodyguards. Upon hearing the
name of the perpetrator, the police declined to inspect the
crime scene and the emergency center refused medical services
to her son. Nevertheless, Ms. Pavlova, refusing to be
silenced, continued writing stories against the brothers and
filed a complaint against their bodyguard. Her example
prompted other victims to step forward and join her effort,
which led to the arrest of the brothers in December 2008.
The Galevi brothers were subsequently released thanks to a
legal loophole that grants immunity to those running for
parliament. Despite losing their election bid, they were
released on bail. The trial against them is ongoing, but
they remain firmly in control of Dupnitsa. Ms. Pavlova and
her two sons are no longer under police protection, and she
continues to face harassment and frivolous lawsuits due to
her unwillingness to give up her campaign against the
brothers.

3. (U) Ms. Pavlova has been working as a reporter and
correspondent for various Bulgarian newspapers for over 15
years. For the past 12 years she has been reporting for the
daily newspaper "Struma," focusing on regional issues in
south west Bulgaria. In 2004, the association of Bulgarian
regional media named her "Journalist of the Year" and
presented her again with a special recognition in 2009. In
October 2009, Ms. Pavlova became the first winner of the
Prize for Courage in Journalism, which was recently
established by the International Federation of Journalists in
partnership with the German WAZ media group (WAZ-IFJ). The
jury praised Ms. Pavlova for her exemplary courage in
speaking out in the midst of fearful silence and for the
investigative style of her work. Supporting her compelling
fight against corruption, organized crime, and the abuse of
power directly corresponds with post's strategic goal of
strengthening rule of law and investigative journalism in
Bulgaria. She was notified of the nomination and is willing
to accept the award if chosen.

4. (SBU) Her personal and contact information is as follows:

Name: Lidia Pavlova
Title/Association: Journalist
Date of Birth: April 9. 1969
Place of Birth: Dupnitsa, Bulgaria
Citizenship: Bulgarian
Telephone/Email: 359-(0)-885-694-128; lidiapavlova@abv.bg
Passport Number: 126188156
Languages: Bulgarian

5. (U) Post contact is Political Officer Joshua Temblador,
TembladorJ@state.gov, 359-2-937-5276.

SUTTON

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