Bulgarian Journalist Attacked in Sofia - Police

Stefanov, who is recovering in hospital, is the editor in chief of the online news provider frognews.bg.

The editor in chief of a Bulgarian online news provider has been severely beaten in front of a restaurant in central Sofia, the latest of several attacks on journalists in the Balkan nation in the past year.

Ognyan Stefanov, 54, was attacked by four men who broke his arms and legs as he walked out of a restaurant in the Bulgarian capital on Monday night, police said on Tuesday.

Stefanov, who is recovering in hospital, is the editor in chief of the online news provider frognews.bg.

His name was recently linked to another news provider that was closed by the national security service for allegedly publishing classified information on high-level police corruption, but Stefanov has denied any links with that site.

At least three reporters and photojournalists have been beaten in Bulgaria in the past year.

In 2006, a bomb exploded in the apartment of an investigative journalist who had been threatened over his stories uncovering crime and abuse of power among police, notaries and state officials.

Earlier this year, a gunman killed an author of books on the Bulgarian mafia.

Bulgaria, the European Union's poorest nation, is struggling to shake off a reputation for chronic corruption and organised crime.

The EU has punished Bulgaria for its failure to tackle high-level graft and crime by freezing more than 500 million euros ($733 million) in funding.