Category Archives: Bulgarien

[Harmanli21] Aufruf zu einer internationalen Woche der Solidaritätsaktionen mit den angeklagten Harmanli21

Wir dokumentieren eine Aufruf von Genoss*innen aus Sofia:

FREE THE HARMANLI 21!

On 24th of April, 2018 was the first hearing against 21 arrested
migrants accused of participation in a violent riot in the so-called
“open camp” of Harmanli, in 2016. The riot broke out when the camp was
put under unlawful quarantine after pressure from the far right’s
anti-immigrant propaganda. 21 Afghani people were sent to court
despite clear evidence of police brutality and of random mass beatings
after the riot. No police was investigated.

The next hearing will be on the 5th of June, 2018 at the Regional
court in Harmanli.

·We are planning a week of local actions in solidarity with the
Harmanli 21 until the new date of the trial.

·We call for solidarity actions in front of each Bulgarian embassy or
consulate, demanding the immediate еnding of the trial, release of the
21 migrants and investigation of the police brutality against the
people in the camp.

The 21 migrants continue to be held in the detention centre of
Lyubimets, facing the threat of deportation back to Afghanistan or of
prison sentence in Bulgaria. The whole trial is totally absent in most
of the media and society in general. We believe that only pressure
from inside and outside can help put this trial out in the public eye,
especially in these last 2 months of Bulgarian presidency of the EU
council.

·The week of actions is from Monday, 28th of May to Tuesday, 5th of
June, 2018.

Apart from that you can help by starting campaigns in your countries
and cities in order to inform your local society about the Harmanly 21
case.

Only united we can resist the brutality of the Bulgarian state and of
“Fortress Europe”!

SOLIDARITY, JUSTICE AND FREEDOM FOR THE HARMANLI 21!

Antifa Sofia and comrades

More information:

1) After the Rebellion of the Voiceless, the Trial comes – FREDOM FOR
THE HARMANLI 21
After the Rebellion of the Voiceless, the Trial comes – FREDOM FOR THE HARMANLI 21

2) Report of the the first day from the trial against the Harmanli 21

http://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/2018/04/26/the-start-of-the-trial-against-the-harmanli-21/ Show
original message

[Harmanli21] Der Start des Prozesses gegen die Harmanli21 in Bulgarien

Wir dokumentieren einen Bericht von Bordermonitoring Bulgaria (http://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/2018/04/26/the-start-of-the-trial-against-the-harmanli-21/):

The start of the trial against the Harmanli 21

On the 24th of April 2018, at 13:30, the first hearing of the trial about the riot in the camp took place at the Regional court in Harmanli. At already 13:00, journalists had gathered in front of the court house. Some of them were calling the accused people “21 pieces“, not people but “pieces“. This is showing the level of professionalism and objectivity the topic of migrants is being handled with by some of the media in Bulgaria. As a van arrived, packed with the accused migrants, which were accompanid by officers from the Migration Directorate, some journalists ran to take pictures and videos of the accused migrants.

As one could see many of the accused people felt very unconfortable with this situation and tried to avoid being filmed or photographed. 10 of the accused migrants were present at court. They are currently waiting in the pre-trial detention in the closed camp in Lyubimets. Another 11 accused were missing. Most of the migrants were represented by public defenders and there was no representative from the State Agency of Refugees (SAR).

The trial did not start yet, and the hearing was no longer than 30 minutes. The argument was searching for and sending letters to the 11 missing people, who did not appear. The authorities in Bulgaria are accusing the migrants in the refugee detention center of a damaging different things in the value of about 85,000 Leva (42,000 Euro). The accusations are hooliganism and property destruction.

Most of the accused migrants claimed that they are innocent and were gathered randomly from the camp in Harmanli by the police. As reported before, when the police and gendarmerie entered the rooms at the night night after the alleged riot and brutally beat up migrants in the camp manypeople were sleeping. The media „professionals“ fail to notice and report on this small detail.

The next hearing will be on the 5th of June, 2018 at the Regional court in Harmanli at 13:30.

[Bulgarien] Prozessbeginn gegen Harmanli21 am 24. April

The Harmanli local district court had scheduled the court hearing against 21 Afghans, who are accused of taking part in the riot in November 2016 to start on 24th of April 2018 in Harmanli, Bulgaria.

After the riot, that broke out following a protest against quarantine measures, inhabitants of the camp Harmanli (Bulgaria) accused the gendarmerie of using brutal violence. They publicly stated that the gendarmerie stormed houses while some people were sleeping, who had nothing to do with the riot. Pictures with many injuries were shared by the asylum seekers.

The court hearing will take place on the 24th of April 2018 in Rayonen Sad – Harmanli (РАЙОНЕН СЪД) at Yanko Sakazov Street 1, 6450 Tsentar, Harmanli, starting at 1.30 pm.

Show your Solidarity!

Source: http://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/2018/03/31/court-hearing-scheduled-for-the-harmanli-21/

[Bulgarien] Die Harmanli 21 – angeklagt wegen “Riot”

Wir dokumentieren einen Bericht von Bordermonitoring Bulgarien:

Local District Prosecutor’s Office indicts 21 asylum seekers for a
riot at Harmanli’s refugee camp

A Local District Prosecutor’s Office decided to indict 21 asylum seekers
for “hooliganism with boldness and cynicism concerning the riot which happened in December 2016 in Harmanli’s refugee camp. The riot broke out after authorities closed Bulgaria’s
biggest refugee camp, because of a quarantine issue.

Before the closing of the camp neo-nazi and right wing protesters
gathered on a regular basis in front of the camp to demonstrate against
foreigners. The authorities obeyed the orders from the xenophobic and
racist groups and parties and closed the camp for several days.

After the riot broke out on the 24th of November 2017, the camp was
stormed in the following night by a special unit of the gendarmerie.
According to several civil rights organizations, volunteers and refugees
many people in the camp were attacked and heavily injured without being
involved in the riot

Krassimir Kanev, the head of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), who
was beaten up himself by unknown people during the middle of the night
in October 2016 stated:

Lots of completely innocent refugees were chased in their rooms,
attacked and severely beaten up by the police in the course of that
operation. Nor is there any prosecution of those who closed the
Harmanli center on the instigation of nationalists, turning it into
a prison for several days, which provoked the riot. Instead, we are
going to have several rioters prosecuted for destruction of property
and hooliganism

The Center for Legal Aid – Voice in Bulgaria (CLA) condemned „the
absence of investigation of the police use of force against the
asylumseekers

Bordermonitoring Bulgaria (BMB) shares the concerns which were raised by
the BHC and the CLA. The aim of the prosecution cannot justify the
possible unlawful acts of the police, the State Agency for Refugees
(SAR) and the the Health Inspectorate, which should be investigated by
an independent agency.

Weitere Infos unter:
<http://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/2018/01/09/local-district-prosecutors-office-indicts-21-asylum-seekers-for-a-riot-at-harmanlis-refugee-camp/>
<https://sofiaglobe.com/2018/01/09/bulgaria-21-asylum-seekers-to-be-indicted-for-riot-at-refugee-camp/>
<http://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/2016/11/24/the-provoked-riot-in-harmanlis-refugee-camp/>.
<http://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/2016/11/22/harmanlis-refugee-camp-under-quarantine/>.
<https://sofiaglobe.com/2018/01/09/bulgaria-21-asylum-seekers-to-be-indicted-for-riot-at-refugee-camp/>
<https://twitter.com/VoiceInBulgaria/status/950641658483355649>„.

[Bulgarien] Bulgarisch-Türkische Grenze: Staatsanwalt klagt 21 Asylsuchende des “Riots” an

Genoss*innen haben einen Bericht mit uns geteilt. Für mehr Infos kontaktiert mf@bordermonitoring.eu.

Local District Prosecutor’s Office indicts 21 asylum seekers for a
riot at Harmanli’s refugee camp

A Local District Prosecutor’s Office decided to indict 21 asylum seekers
for “hooliganism with boldness and cynicism concerning the riot which happened in December 2016 in Harmanli’s refugee camp. The riot broke out after authorities closed Bulgaria’s
biggest refugee camp, because of a quarantine issue
<http://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/2016/11/22/harmanlis-refugee-camp-under-quarantine/>.
Before the closing of the camp neo-nazi and right wing protesters
gathered on a regular basis in front of the camp to demonstrate against
foreigners. The authorities obeyed the orders from the xenophobic and
racist groups and parties and closed the camp for several days.

After the riot broke out on the 24th of November 2017, the camp was
stormed in the following night by a special unit of the gendarmerie.
According to several civil rights organizations, volunteers and refugees
many people in the camp were attacked and heavily injured without being
involved in the riot
<http://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/2016/11/24/the-provoked-riot-in-harmanlis-refugee-camp/>.
Krassimir Kanev, the head of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), who
was beaten up himself by unknown people during the middle of the night
in October 2016 stated:

Lots of completely innocent refugees were chased in their rooms,
attacked and severely beaten up by the police in the course of that
operation. Nor is there any prosecution of those who closed the
Harmanli center on the instigation of nationalists, turning it into
a prison for several days, which provoked the riot. Instead, we are
going to have several rioters prosecuted for destruction of property
and hooliganism.

The Center for Legal Aid – Voice in Bulgaria (CLA) condemned „the
absence of investigation of the police use of force against the
asylumseekers:
https://twitter.com/VoiceInBulgaria/status/950641658483355649

Bordermonitoring Bulgaria (BMB) shares the concerns which were raised by
the BHC and the CLA. The aim of the prosecution cannot justify the
possible unlawful acts of the police, the State Agency for Refugees
(SAR) and the the Health Inspectorate, which should be investigated by
an independent agency.

See the full post on Bordermonitoring Bulgaria:
http://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/2018/01/09/local-district-prosecutors-office-indicts-21-asylum-seekers-for-a-riot-at-harmanlis-refugee-camp/