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Beaten, attacked by dogs and pulled back at the Bulgaria – Serbia border
The respondent is a 22 year old man from Pakistan. He was in a group of 10 people crossing the Turkish-Bulgarian border on the 26th of October 2025.
Once the respondent crossed the Turkey – Bulgaria border, he walked for 3 days in the forest where he was intercepted by the Bulgarian authorities. The respondent recalls that 4 police officers from the Bulgarian border police found them in the forest at night. He could not see what they were wearing and the colour of their clothes because it was dark. He states that while screaming at the group, the Bulgarian police brought all 10 people into a car and took them to the police station where they spent the night.
Once the respondent crossed the Turkey – Bulgaria border, he walked for 3 days in the forest where he was intercepted by the Bulgarian authorities. The respondent recalls that 4 police officers from the Bulgarian border police found them in the forest at night. He could not see what they were wearing and the colour of their clothes because it was dark. He states that while screaming at the group, the Bulgarian police brought all 10 people into a car and took them to the police station where they spent the night.
Voenna Rampa Camp in Sofia, where they had to make their way back to after the pushback.
On the respondent’s second interaction with the border police, he submits that the group encountered them at the Bulgaria – Serbia border. He recalls that 8 police officers beat up the group: screamed at the respondent, beat him, kicked him and sent their dogs to bite him. Subsequent to this, he recalls that they took them to a police station where they were forced to give their fingerprints and apply for asylum in Bulgaria.
The respondent claims that he spent most of the night in the police station and then the police drove him and the group to the outskirts of Sofia and left them on the street without a place to sleep. According to the respondent he was forced to walk an hour to Voenna Rampa, an open camp in Sofia. Once he arrived in the camp he didn’t receive any medical treatment for the wounds caused by the police beating or the dog bites.
legal analysis
These incidents invoke Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.
The incident described also represents a violation of the prohibition of collective expulsion.
overview
8-10 people ,
from Pakistan and Afghanistan,