IndyMedia - Vrij Media Centrum Nederland

Wanneer: 18/10/2012 - 19:46

Hello everybody! Please spread everywhere. If it gets the attention of international press this will be best! Thank you

Police Brutality in a detention center in Bulgaria

On the 16th of October, eight Syrian asylum-seekers were brutally beaten by the police in the detention center for foreigners in the city of Lyubimets, close to the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The same day, one of the detainees attempted to talk to the guards in the prison in order to receive information about his request to be sent back to Turkey. The prison guards responded with violence.

After his fellow detainees tried to stop the conflict, they were immediately subjected to a brutal beating. All together, eight people were brutally beaten by the police with batons. Each one of them was beaten by three police men. After the police attack, the asylum-seekers were placed in solitary confinement in the prison, where they remain to this day. There is no information about their health condition, as nobody is allowed to speak with them. The only information known is that one of the victims has a broken arm.

Demands of those detained:

· Immediate investigation of police brutality in the detention centers for foreigners in Bulgaria

· Punishment of the police guards who have participated in the beating

· Immediate transfer of all those in the transit and reception centers in Bulgaria

· Information about the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees in Bulgaria

· Compliance with the commitments made by Bulgaria in regards to refugee and humanitarian international law