Bulgaria, human rights violations on refugees

The case of Abdulrahman al-Khalidi, a Saudi human rights activist, held in the Busmantsi detention center in the Bulgarian capital since October 2021, highlights state inaction and human rights violations when it comes to refugees and migrants

On 5 July, a demonstration was held in Sofia to protest against the deportation of Abdulrahman al-Khalidi, a Saudi Arabian human rights activist, who has been held in the Busmantsi detention centre in the Bulgarian capital since October 2021.

Despite the fact the Sofia Administrative Court overturned the decision to refuse Abdulrahman’s asylum request, referring the case back to the State Agency for Refugees for reconsideration, in February al- Khalfidi was notified of his deportation order to Saudi Arabia.

Following the recent protest, al-Khalidi announced his intention to go on hunger strike. According to Balkan Insight , the move serves as “a reaction against the ongoing mistreatment, violations and continued detention”.

“Human dignity is my most precious possession, so: hunger strike, until freedom or death!”, Abdulrahman wrote in a post published on social media.

Over the past few months, international human rights groups, like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International , have repeatedly invited the Bulgarian authorities to renounce the expulsion of the Saudi activist, arguing that al-Khalidi’s political views and activism could make him a target of torture and human rights abuses if returned to Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, this move could also violate some of the human rights obligations Bulgaria must adhere to as a member state of the European Union and United Nations. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, tweeted how the deportation would violate Bulgaria’s commitment to non-refoulement given the high risk of persecution upon return to Saudi Arabia.

This is not the first time Bulgaria has been accused of such actions, as there has been a consistent wave of criticism for the country’s approach to migration management over the last few years, especially as Sofia sought accession to the Schengen Zone (it acquired partial membership in March 2024). While Bulgaria had been previously criticised for the lack of strict migration policies before joining Schengen, recent reports have highlighted how Bulgarian border police is engaging in more aggressive, and possible illegal, migration management tactics.

Abdulrahman al-Khalidi’s asylum case

The Saudi activist first fled his country in 2013, amid various threats and heightened interest from the country’s security forces, due to his fight for democratic reforms. After periods of exile in several countries, in 2021 he decided to seek asylum in the EU. However, shortly after crossing the border between Turkey and Bulgaria, he was arrested by the Bulgarian police for having entered the country irregulary, as reported by Amnesty International . Despite the fact that the procedure for examining his asylum request is still pending, al-Khalidi is held in Busmantsi detention center near the Sofia airport.

About ten days before starting the hunger strike, al-Khalidi wrote an open letter from the Busmantsi detention centre, describing the difficult situation of himself and fellow asylum seekers, his views on the Bulgarian asylum process, and the terrible conditions of the centre itself. Reports of horrible living conditions in the camps have also been highlighted by InfoMigrants, where a young Syrian man describes how "inside, it’s terrible; with insects everywhere. I couldn't sleep because I have a phobia of dirtiness. Also, the police beat us, this happened to me four or five times during those 13 days".

In a message sent to InfoMigrants, al-Khalidi himself describes the maximum security in the centre, saying there are “iron doors, the permanent presence of security agents and a lack of freedom of movement inside [as well as] surveillance cameras and electronic listening equipment in the rooms which are active 24 hours a day and 7 days a week”.

In the open letter, al-Khalidi also mentions how “Bulgaria, in a very unexpected way, is turning into yet another dangerous place for the refugee”, referring to the difficulties faced by refugees attempting to seek protection in the Balkan country.

Considering this, Human Rights Watch writes that al-Khalidi’s deportation could violate Bulgaria’s obligation under Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatement or Punishment as well as article 33 of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits the return of a refugee to a place where his life or freedom would be threatened.

Human rights violations and abuses

The case of al-Khalidi highlights very clearly some common, recurring and systemic problems within the Bulgarian migration management system. In their book Migration and Populism in Bulgaria , Ildiko Otova and Evelina Staykova explain how there is a practice among Bulgarian authorities to “deny Turkish nationals access to international protection procedures and repatriate them”.

Additionally, as mentioned above, the conditions of migration centres in Bulgaria are not acceptable nor humane. Bulgaria has six refugee reception centres, however the freedom of movement for those awaiting verdicts on their applications is very limited. Reports similar to those from the Busmantsi Centre have surfaced highlighting how in the centres regfugees are not provided adequate resources and there is the risk of the spread of infectious disease.

Furthermore, Bulgarian border guards have repeatedly been accused of violent pushbacks and human rights abuses as they patrol Europe’s external borders, despite continued partnership with both the EU and Frontex. In 2022, Operation Terra, a new initiative to secure the EU’s external land border, was launched across twelve EU Member States, including Bulgaria. Through this operation, over a thousand Frontex officers were deployed within the country.

Bulgarian border guards, according to InfoMigrants, have also used drone and video surveillance to further secure their borders. However, when transiting migrants do succeed in crossing into Bulgaria, border guards have typically sought to push them back. In 2023 alone, there were 9,897 alleged pushbacks which affected 174,588 persons, according to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles.

These events however are more than just one off coincidences, but are part of Bulgarian migration policy itself. A recent investigation by Solomon and partners analysed internal documents of the European Commission and Frontex, and found that “evidence of grave and persistent human rights violations by Bulgarian border police officers has been dismissed not only by Bulgarian authorities but swept under the rug by EU officials.”

A similar report by the EUobserver shows how documents suggest “Bulgarian border guards are knowingly abusing the rights of prospective asylum seekers along the shared land border with Turkey” and that “Frontex officers are being pressured by their Bulgarian counterparts into tacitly accepting the abuse in a quid-pro-quo to gain full access to the border”. Internal Frontex documents also confirm that push backs and expulsions along the border are a common practice.

The Balkan route and Schengen accession

Bulgaria has been an important country for migrants hoping to reach Western Europe along the Balkan migratory route, which saw the number of those transiting through Bulgaria start to rise in 2012, as a result of conflict in Syria and Afghanistan.

More recently, in the months leading up to Bulgaria’s accession into the Schengen Zone, migration has become a polarising topic in the media and a contested issue in domestic politics. In March 2024, politicians started to use increasingly divisive language , claiming the arrival of migrants will be a threat to state security, while protesters in the streets of the capital shouted “Bulgaria for Bulgarians” and “Migrants Out”.

However, the tension in Bulgaria involving migration is just one aspect of the country’s larger political problems, as the Bulgarian Parliament on 3 July voted against the formation of a minority coalition government, despite holding their sixth election in just three years this June.

While political uncertainty in Bulgaria seems destined to persist for some time, the region in general will continue to serve as a very important and crucial area for European migration management and reform, also in light of the EU's attempts to strengthen cooperation between member states and third countries through the new Pact on Migration and Asylum.

 

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This article was produced as part of “MigraVoice: Migrant Voices Matter in the European Media”, an editorial project supported by the European Union. The positions contained in this article are the expression of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the positions of the European Union.