29 April 2014
Human Rights Watch: Bulgaria summarily expels asylum seekers
On 29 April 2014, Human Rights Watch released a report in which it says that Bulgaria summarily returns Syrians, Afghans, and others from within Bulgaria and at the border with Turkey.
In order to prevent further arrivals, Bulgaria deployed an additional 1,500 police officers at the Turkish border. Frontex, the European Union’s border control agency, has also supplied guest guards from various EU member states.
Traditionally, Bulgaria was not a host country for asylum seekers. This changed in 2013 when large numbers of Syrians arrived. Since Bulgarian’s asylum system was not prepared for this increase, there have been significant shortfalls in the treatment of asylum seekers.
Human Rights Watch urges the European Union to “agree on a common position to promote the equitable sharing of the burden of refugees among EU member states”.
Source: Human Rights Watch | Bulgaria: Asylum Seekers Summarily Expelled