Bulgarian authorities have been accused of ignoring emergency calls and obstructing efforts to rescue three Egyptian teenage boys, who later died in sub-zero temperatures near the Bulgarian-Turkish border in late December.
A dossier of evidence compiled by two humanitarian organisations, seen by the Guardian, contains photos, testimonies and geolocations allegedly showing the authorities’ failure to save the boys, who called for help as they struggled cold and lost in the forests of Burgas, in south-eastern Bulgaria.
The organisations, No Name Kitchen (NNK) and Collettivo Rotte Balcaniche (CRB), say their report, Frozen Lives, reveals a bigger picture of brutality against migrants at Europe’s borders.
Bulgaria’s border with Turkey is a frequent crossing point for people hoping to claim asylum in Europe but there have been well-documented human rights abuses in recent years, including allegations of illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers to Turkey. It is forbidding terrain, rocky and hilly with freezing winter temperatures and bitter winds.