The respondent is a 21-year-old Afghan man. He reported being pushed back from Bulgaria to Turkey on 7th June 2024. He was traveling in a transit group of 12 Afghan boys and men. Their ages ranged from 16 to 28 years old.
The group crossed the border from Turkey to Bulgaria at nighttime near the Lesovo border crossing. They were apprehended by a group 5 officers whom the respondent identified as the Bulgarian police based on their dark blue uniforms that had ‘police’ written on them and the guns they were carrying. They had a van and a dog.
The police released their dog on the group. The respondent showed us scars on both of his shins that he had sustained in the dog attack. The officers also used what the respondent described as an ‘electric stick’ (electric discharge weapon) to inflict electric shocks on the respondent and other members of the group.
The police took everyone’s possessions, including phones, money, bags and food. They then drove the group back to the border in the van and forced them to cross the border back to Turkey.
