'Two officers were carrying large sticks, and they beat us'
| 01.07.2025 | Malko Tarnovo area | Collective Aid | 41.9797938, 27.5250475 | Bulgaria | Turkey | No | no | yes | yes | no | no | n.a - n.a | 15 | Unknown | dog attacks, Beatings (with batons / hands / other), destruction of personal belongings, theft of personal belongings, forced to lie on the ground, threatening with dogs, forced to be still and silent while laying on the ground | <p>An unknown number of police officers found the transit group first, then another group of officers arrived at the apprehension location.</p> <p>1 police van, 1 police car</p> |
The respondent is an Afghan man of unknown age. He was part of a 15-person transit group, all of whom were from Afghanistan. The transit group also included minors. They were pushed back from Bulgaria to Turkey on July 1, 2025.
The respondent describes being near the Malko Tarnovo area, in Bulgaria, when they heard some noises coming from nearby.
“We heard police and their dogs running in the forest. We were hiding, very scared. The dogs found us”
The respondent explained that some people arrived at the spot whom he immediately recognized as police officers.
“The police released the dogs on us, they were very violent. The dogs bit us”
Once the transit group was apprehended, all the members of the group were reportedly ordered not to move and then beaten by the police officers with batons on unspecified parts of the body. Afterwards, the officers intimidated the transit group to lie on the ground and threatened them with the dogs. The transit group was reportedly made to wait in silence on the ground for what felt like more than an hour. They were prohibited from moving, drinking, or talking to each other.
“The police told us not to move or speak. Two officers were carrying large sticks and they beat us. They made us lie on the ground and continued to threaten us with the dogs. We were forbidden from speaking or moving. We waited for about an hour”
Then, a large van arrived with more people, recognised as police officers. The respondent couldn’t recall the number, but described it as:
“Another big group of border police arrived with one big border police truck”
Once the other officers arrived at the apprehension location, the transit group was reportedly searched and their personal belongings stolen.
“They took us. They searched our bags. We had some biscuits and water. They told us to leave our bags behind, along with all our food and water. They took everyone's phones and money. Some of the phones were destroyed on the spot”
The group was forced to enter the van and driven for an unknown amount of time to an unknown place near the border with Turkey. After the van stopped, they were reportedly forced to walk back to Turkey.