Photo: Benjmin John
The deportation plans of the government of Kir Starmer have come under serious legal and public pressure. This week, lawyers are trying to stop the return of asylum seekers to Bulgaria over allegations of systemic human rights abuses against refugees, The Guardian reports.
Since July 2024, more than 24,000 people have been deported from the UK, including more than 200 to Bulgaria. London has agreements with a number of countries that allow the return of migrants if they are registered on their territory. However, lawyers warn that deportation to Bulgaria is a potential path to torture and humiliation.
Shocking testimonies
The human rights organisation No Name Kitchen collected 21 testimonies, including from 17 Syrians who had been deported from Germany and Britain to Bulgaria. Most of them said that they were forced to sign documents on “voluntary return” to the countries they fled from under pressure. Some were threatened with imprisonment.
“They forced me to sign a document to return to Syria, threatening me with 18 months in prison,” said one of the deported women.
Legal opposition
Lawyer George Sheldon Gruhn said that Duncan Lewis Solicitors is representing several Syrians in British courts, seeking to overturn the deportations.
“We cannot ignore the reality: Bulgaria is not a safe place for asylum seekers,” said human rights activist Ana Carolina Fischer da Cunha, one of the report’s authors.
Government insists on legality
In response to the scandal, a British Home Office spokesman said:
“Anyone who is in the country illegally and has refugee status in another country will be returned if it is deemed safe to do so.”
However, critics argue that the asylum system in Bulgaria does not meet EU standards, and the practice of pressure, violence and ignoring rescue requests is deeply concerning.
