Dilyana Gaytandzhieva
 Dilyana Gaytandzhieva     (journalist) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | Bulgarian |
| Interest of | Matt Field |
Dilyana Gaytandzhieva was sacked from her Bulgarian newspaper after writing a story alleging that CIA flights were used to ship arms to "terrorists". Her article alleges involvement by Silk Way Airlines and Purple Shovel were involved in the shipment of arms to Syrian and other places.[1] She reports that no explanation for her firing was offered.[2]
2017 report about weapons shipments to Syria
In July 2017 an investigation Dilyana Gaytandzhieva: [3] by the leading Bulgarian daily newspaper Trud, which has a reputation for investigative crime reporting[4] revealed how Silk Way Airlines exploited a loophole in the international aviation and transport regulations to offer flights to arms manufacturers and private companies – with much of the cargo heading for known terrorist enclaves in Syria, but also to other conflict zones including Central Asia and Africa.
The published documents included correspondence between the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Azerbaijan to Bulgaria with attached documents for weapons deals and diplomatic clearance for overflight and/or landing in Bulgaria and other countries, including Saudi Arabia. The documents disclosed that American weapons manufacturers had shipped over $1 billion of weapons through Silk Way Airlines, corporate subcontractors included ″Purple Shovel LLC″ based in Sterling, Virginia, US Department of Defense subcontracting vehicle ″Culmen International LLC″ based in Alexandria, weapons and defense procurement firm ″Chemring Military Products″ based in Perry, Florida. When Silk Way Airlines did not have enough available planes, Azerbaijan’s Air Force jets would transport the military shipments. In the investigation the reporter accused responsible authorities of many countries (Israel, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Turkey, as well as to the militaries of Saudi Arabia, UAE, the military forces of Germany and Denmark in Afghanistan and of Sweden in Iraq, and the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)) to "have turned a blind eye and allowed diplomatic flights for the transport of tons of weapons, carried out by civil aircrafts [sic] for military needs."[5][6]
References
- ↑ https://trud.bg/350-diplomatic-flights-carry-weapons-for-terrorists/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbNfUgjmlYo
- ↑ 350 diplomatic flights carry weapons for terrorists, Trud, 2. July 2017
- ↑ John Herbert: Practising Global Journalism: Exploring Reporting Issues Worldwide, Focal Press, Oxford and Woburn, MA, 2001, p. 186
- ↑ Harut Sassounian: The U.S. and Europe Must Investigate Azerbaijani Shipments of Weapons to Terrorists, The Armenian Weekly, 11 July 2017
- ↑ Report: Saudi, UAE weapons end up with armed groups, Al Jazeera, 27 August 2017
