Journalist Sonya Koltukliyeva is in St Sofia hospital, waiting for doctors to decide today whether to operate on her, after a National Protection Service (NSO) officer knocked her to the ground. She said this on social media. President Iliana Yotova said earlier today she would ask NSO chief Maj Gen Emil Tonev to resign.
The NSO press office said Tonev is ready to step down. The incident has led to calls for Dotsova and Tonev to resign.
The background: Sonya Koltukliyeva in Military Medical Academy after incident with Dotsova's NSO guard
It happened last night. Koltukliyeva opened the door of the car Dotsova had just got into, and a security officer shoved her. Dotsova and her guards drove off, and the journalist was left lying on the ground.
Dotsova met Koltukliyeva late last night and then spoke to reporters. She said she felt the deepest regret for what happened, as a person and as a woman. "When I got into the car, Ms Koltukliyeva opened the door, which startled me. My colleagues got out and closed the door, and then the car left," Dotsova said.
Koltukliyeva says she is feeling better. She is getting painkilling infusions that make the pain bearable. Dr Hristo Mazneykov and the orthopaedics team will decide whether to operate on her shoulder or treat it without surgery.
"I don't yet know the results of the tests on my internal organs," the journalist wrote.
Prof Nikolay Gabrovski told her by phone that he will monitor her condition. She will need a follow-up scan in four to five weeks, because there may be hidden damage.