Nearly a year ago, three children lost their lives on the Bulgarian border. Activists then filed a number of signals to save the migrants, but the Bulgarian authorities did not react. A Frontex report confirms this.
The Bulgarian authorities have committed "gross negligence" and failed to fulfil their obligations to protect the lives of children, the Frontex Fundamental Rights Office (FRO) wrote in its report on the scandalous case from December 2024.
"Bulgarian authorities had an obligation to help"
Almost a year after three boys from Egypt died from freezing on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, the Fundamental Rights Office of the European border agency Frontex has published a report confirming the responsibility of the Bulgarian border police for the deaths of the minors. According to the Serious Incident Report (SIR), prepared at the end of July but published earlier in November, the Bulgarian authorities were aware of the whereabouts of the distressed youths, but failed to take the necessary actions to fulfill their obligation to save their lives.
"The Bulgarian authorities were obliged to assist and rescue the migrants, they had sufficient information suggesting a life-threatening situation, they knew the location of the migrants and although they had the capacity to act, they failed to take measures, which led to the loss of life", the FRO's conclusions read.
"Given that the deceased migrants are minors, the Bulgarian authorities also failed to fulfill specific obligations to protect the rights of children", added the Frontex investigators, defining the actions of the Border Police as "gross negligence".
DV sought comment from the Ministry of Interior, but did not receive a response by the time of publication of this material.
Activists file reports, authorities do not react
In December 2024, Ahmed Samra, Ahmed Elavdan and Seyfala Elbeltagi, citizens of Egypt between the ages of 15 and 17, died in the area of the village of Gabar after illegally crossing the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The case gained international publicity, as two international volunteer organizations - No Name Kitchen and Colletivo Rotte Balkaniche - announced that they had been alerted to the distressed youth on the night of December 27 and had tried to save them.
The volunteers received videos showing that the children were still alive, as well as GPS coordinates with their location, which they shared with emergency services. DW has these materials. More than 24 hours later, the boys were found dead, with the conclusions of the forensic medicine in Burgas, cited by FRO, being that two of them died of frostbite, and one of them - from a pulmonary embolism.
Ministry of Interior against NGOs
The two informal organizations submitted a total of six signals to 112 and tried to reach the distressed unaccompanied minors. They say in their report that not only do they not receive assistance from the border authorities, but their rescue operations are also hindered. In our country, the humanitarian organization "Mission Wings" gave publicity to the case, which subsequently assisted the families of the deceased children to identify and bury their bodies. From "Mission Wings" They also filed a report with the Burgas District Prosecutor's Office regarding the incidents.
At that time, the Ministry of Interior told the media that they had received reports with incorrect locations and accused "Mission Wings" of intentionally obstructing their official activities. Since then, the organization has said that they have been subjected to numerous inspections, including by the Bulgarian National Anti-Corruption Agency and the Bulgarian National Security Agency, due to an investigation into their involvement in a smuggling operation. Recently, in an interview with the prestigious British newspaper "The Times", the Minister of Interior Daniel Mitov again accused "Mission Wings" and No Name Kitchen of collaborating with traffickers "under ideological pretext". There are currently no results of the checks carried out to provide evidence for these allegations.
Bulgarian authorities are spreading "misinformation"
The investigation by the Frontex Fundamental Rights Office refutes the version of DG "Border Police" about the events of 27 and 28 December 2024.
"Contrary to the claims of the Bulgarian authorities that the signals of 27 December 2024 contained "misleading and misleading information" and that "the bodies were found in other locations", the FRO concludes that the Bulgarian authorities were informed about the cases of those in distress, including the exact location of at least two of them," the report states.
According to the FRO's conclusions, "the rescue efforts of the NGOs were authentic and probably hindered by the Bulgarian authorities". "The Fundamental Rights Office is deeply concerned by the ongoing allegations that the Bulgarian authorities are not responding adequately to signals of people in distress", the FRO added.
Bulgaria does not have official statistics on the deaths of refugees and migrants on its territory, but journalistic investigations and humanitarian organizations speak of hundreds of cases over the past few years.
"They tried to turn us into criminals"
"Statements like the FRO report are cosmetic if they are not followed up by action. "If Frontex is serious about its allegations, it should immediately cease any cooperation or support for the Bulgarian authorities," the organization Colletivo Rotte Balkaniche commented in a position paper published on Wednesday.
The director of the "Mission Wings" Foundation, Diana Dimova, commented to the State Duma that the FRO report confirms "once again all concerns that systematic human rights violations are being committed by employees in institutions tasked with specific tasks of guarding Bulgaria's borders.".
"It is particularly disturbing when these violations threaten or lead to the loss of human life," she added.
Dimova recalls with "bitterness" the events of December 2024 and the subsequent reaction of Bulgarian institutions. "The defensive and aggressive position of the Ministry of Interior and several other state institutions, which sang in one voice, shocked us. Everything that followed, however, we never imagined would fall on us," she shares.
"Checks by institutions have begun. All kinds. In all sorts of ways. On the organization, on individuals - on key figures in the team, on members of our families. We understood how the thugs operate against critical citizens. From humanitarian workers, they tried to turn us into criminals in order to erase the traces of their own crimes. Bulgaria is becoming more and more repressive and unsafe for the vocal ones," adds the director of "Mission Wings".