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ITF demands urgent investigation into attack on trade unionist in Bulgaria
11 September 2008
The ITF is urging the Bulgarian government to launch an inquiry into an attack on a prominent trade unionist and local councillor.
Ekaterina Yordanova, President of the ITF-affiliated Federation of Transport Trade Unions in Bulgaria, executive committee member of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria and Sofia City Council member, was attacked on 16 July after returning home from work. A car deliberately drove into her own vehicle several times causing it to collide into a parked car where she was able to call for help. The assailant fled after neighbours gathered at the scene.
In letters dated 10 September to a number of Bulgarian government ministers and the Mayor of Sofia, ITF General Secretary David Cockroft expressed grave concern regarding the “politically motivated and violent attack” and called for urgent intervention “to ensure the incident is properly investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice.” He reminded them that this was not the first seemingly unmotivated attack carried out against a transport trade unionist in Bulgaria; in August last year, Valentina Tzvetkova, Federal Secretary for Air Transport in FTW Podkrepa, was subjected to a horrific knife attack.
Cockroft stated: “Because these attacks appear to be carried out by those whose motivations are political, we believe proper investigation of this incident is absolutely necessary. We understand that despite a considerable amount of media coverage, no progress has been made in the case – a situation which, I am sure you will agree, is frankly unacceptable.”
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