Bulgaria has denied that its border police fired at refugees on the border with Turkey a day after the release of a video showing a man being shot at the border.
The denials are included in statements on December 6 from Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev, Acting Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, and the press center of the Interior Ministry.
The Interior Ministry statement said there was no evidence that Syrian refugees were shot at the Bulgarian-Turkish border on October 3, when border patrols prevented an attempted border crossing by a group of about 65 people.
The ministry said the group retreated back to Turkish territory after spotting the border patrol but returned “displaying aggressive and hostile behavior which escalated into physical violence," resulting in the injury of a border police officer, who was hit by a stone, and damage to a police vehicle and the windows of a guard booth.
Noting that the incident was two months ago, Geshev said he hoped it would not be used “situationally to harm the people because Bulgaria does not deserve that.” Bulgaria is “a European country and we use European standards," Geshev said on December 6, adding that the Prosecutor-General’s Office has not established that a shooting against refugees took place, and saying this was similar to the conclusion of the Interior Ministry.
The video, which was released on December 5, showed an asylum seeker collapsing to the ground after being struck by a bullet that penetrates his hand and lodges in his chest. In a separate video recorded days later, the man identified himself as 19-year-old Abdullah el-Rustum of Syria. He said he was shot by Bulgarian border guards after his group was caught illegally entering Bulgaria and pushed back to Turkey.
The videos were part of a joint investigation by several European media outlets, including RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service.
Demerdzhiev confirmed at a briefing on December 5 that there was no evidence that shots were fired by officers of the Interior Ministry. The acting minister described the journalistic investigation as biased.
"There is no evidence in this incident that a shot was fired by a Bulgarian border policeman or that active actions were taken that in any way violated the human rights of anyone," Demerdzhiev said.
His statement confirms the official position of the Interior Ministry on the incident, which had been sent to RFE/RL. According to the statement, the refugees showed "aggressive and hostile behavior, which escalated into physical violence -- throwing stones and burning objects at the Bulgarian police officers, their official car, and the security booth."
The ministry’s press center adds that it was not clear in the video from which direction the shot that wounded Rustum came. However, it emphasized that after the investigation it became clear that “no shots were fired from our side."
The European Commission on December 6 urged Bulgaria to thoroughly investigate the shooting. European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper told reporters that Brussels expects authorities in the EU member country to investigate any allegations and to follow up swiftly and effectively.
The Bulgarian government has said its border guards have encountered more aggression from people trying to illegally enter the country. Officials last month reported that a Bulgarian police officer was shot dead by an unidentified person at the border with Turkey and two police officers were killed in August when they were hit by a bus carrying migrants.
Bulgaria Denies Border Police Fired At Refugees Illegally Crossing From Turkey
Abdullah el-Rustum said he was shot by Bulgarian border guards after his group was caught illegally entering Bulgaria and pushed back to Turkey.