A second suspect has been arrested for the rape and murder of Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova. A twenty-one-year-old man holding the same nationality was picked up by the German authorities near Hamburg; on a European arrest warrant. A previous suspect had been released a day earlier. Ms Marinova, who was killed at the end of last week, was an administrative director of a small Ruse-based private news channel, TVTN television. She was also host of the recently launched talk show, Detector. The last episode of which dealt with the question of alleged EU fraud linked to big business and politics. The European Commission has demanded clarifications on whether or not Ms Marinova was targeted due to her work. But not before reinforcing the need to ensure journalist safety everywhere. This point was echoed by rights groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The latter went as far as requesting police protection for those who had worked with Ms Marinova on the same report. This has irked many. Not least Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov who has publicly lambasted those refusing to rule out the murder as being a politically motivated one. They now stand accused of deliberately trying to tarnish the country’s reputation. This is a ludicrous charge. And it simply underscores the gender gap when it comes to journalist safety. Admittedly, the case of missing editor and columnist Jamal Khashoggi is rather different given the international dimension. Even so, no one – not even the Saudis — is talking about an attack on the national image. There is only talk of justice and accountability. Yet when it comes to women journalists the goalposts change. And what is currently playing out is the country equivalent of #notallmen. It is extremely alarming that when confronted with reactions to Ms Marinova’s murder as well as Sofia’s less than buoyant EU press freedom ranking — 111 out of 180 according to RSF — Borisov is more concerned with the impact on Bulgaria’s future. The bottom line is this. It is not enough to simply dismiss this case as bearing no immediate evidence to suggest that the was linked to investigative media work. The only way forward is to probe this to the point whereby this can be entirely dismissed. This is the least that Ms Marinova deserves. * Published in Daily Times, October 12th 2018.