On 15th September a group of 20 men from Morocco crossed the border into Bulgaria from Turkey. At 3am, and 3km after the border the men were apprehend by 5 Bulgarian officers dressed in military camouflage, with the Bulgarian flag on their arm. They arrived in 2 black land rover 4×4 and had dogs with them.

The Bulgarian officers fired gunshots in the air, immediately stripped the men of their clothes and stole their money. The officers beat the men for an hour; pushing them to the ground, kicking and hitting them with batons.

The group of men said nothing to the officers, other than that they were from Morocco when asked. They were taken in a van directly back across the Turkish border at 4am, and left in Turkish territory.

The respondent said “We want to cross to Europe in peace. We don’t want violence against them.”