Borissov-Erdogan agreement at the bottom of history, in which Bulgaria is the only EU country to return opponents to the Turkish leader
Bulgaria is the only country in the European Union that returns Erdogan’s opponents. This was said to Darik Radio by Tayfur Husseinov from the Association of European Journalists. He said the regime of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had silenced journalists’ critical voices.
“Seven Turkish citizens, along with several other refugees from more eastern countries, were captured on the Bulgarian-Romanian border and handed over by the Bulgarian authorities to the Turkish authorities in less than 24 hours. This is “very necessary” for the new regime in Turkey. Thus, in practice, a European country supports what is happening in Turkey. The Bulgarian authorities do not provide any support and do not accept the request of the Turkish citizens who want political asylum in our country. Let us note, however, that their main goal is not Bulgaria, but Western Europe – Germany. In our country they have been captured and do not receive the desired political asylum and legal support, which is provided according to international agreements. They were quietly returned to the Turkish authorities. This became known to the Bulgarian public only when the official Turkish propaganda of the Erdogan regime trumpeted very widely about the case. We learned about the case from the Turkish media. There was no information from the Bulgarian side. Subsequently, colleagues unraveled what happened. There were excuses from the then rulers, according to which the public interest prevailed for these people to be returned, “said Tayfur Husseinov.
According to him, the journalist in question is still in prison. “Of the seven people who were returned to Turkey, one managed to escape with his family. He currently has political asylum in a western country. He also wants to file a lawsuit against Bulgaria, but at this stage he needs legal support. The others are in a Turkish prison, “Husseinov explained.
According to Krassimir Kanev of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, the big problem is Bulgaria’s participation in the agreement between Boyko Borissov and Erdogan, which provided for the return of the regime’s political opponents back to Turkey.
“It simply came to our notice then. In this case, it is a journalist from an opposition newspaper. He was convicted at first instance of belonging to and being part of a terrorist organization, but was not charged with any terrorist activity. I simply blame him for being part of the so-called The Gulenist Media Empire. Bulgaria has contributed to his conviction in Turkey. The second element is a series of illegal actions by the Bulgarian police. This is not an extradition, but an illegal transfer. When he said he wanted asylum in Ruse, the police should immediately contact the Refugee Agency. Then the procedure begins. There was nothing like that. This is a completely illegal and criminal activity of the Bulgarian police – no access to a lawyer or translator, no publicity. This is an entirely criminal story that the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office should deal with, but hardly, “he explained.
We remind you that yesterday it became clear that the European Court of Human Rights condemned Bulgaria for violating the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to an effective remedy under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The decision is on the occasion of the return to Turkey in 2016 of a Turkish journalist who passed illegally through our country and was found on the border with Romania in a truck. The journalist asked for a lawyer, an interpreter and an opportunity to seek asylum due to political persecution in his country.
Instead, it was returned to Turkish authorities immediately, three months after the attempted coup in 2016 in Turkey, the court said in a statement. Bulgaria has to pay 15,000 euros.
