The "Seafarers" detained in the Black Sea remain in custody

The district court in Tsarevo has decided to keep two foreigners in custody, who were found in a rubber boat in the Black Sea near Primorsko on March 4. The Ukrainian Ruslan and Turkish citizen Aslıhan were rescued by a fishing vessel and a Border Police patrol boat. In the courtroom today, March 5, it was revealed that their stories about their initial departure point do not match.

• A Mysterious couple stranded in a rubber boat in the Black Sea, travelling from Odessa to Varna

The two foreigners have their own explanation as to why they were undocumented when they were detained.

"Because pirates caught us and took everything - the engine, the documents, my passport, they threw us away like trash," Ruslan Sulotki said.

The Ukrainian Ruslan was referring to the crew of a Romanian ship they were on board before being found by the authorities. In their initial testimony, they claimed that the vessel intercepted them at sea while they were travelling from Odessa to Varna and sought help from the crew as the motor of their boat broke down. They also have an explanation as to why they set off in a rubber dinghy in the first place.

"The main reason is that he is fleeing from the war in Ukraine. He found an opportunity to come to Bulgaria with his girlfriend using the boat; that was the purpose of their trip," explained the court-appointed defence lawyer for the Ukrainian citizen, Kamen Kanev.

BNT: And why did he decide to flee from the war that way?

And in what other way.

BNT: A lot of other people came in legally ?

Yes, but that was a year, two years ago.

BNT: Is that the only way?

For him, apparently, it was," explained Kamen Kanev, the Ukrainian citizen's lawyer.

The Turkish citizen explained that she had different political views and feared for her life in Turkey. That is why she sought asylum in Bulgaria. The two were living together as a couple.

"The version they both claim is somewhat illogical. The detained Turkish citizen claims that they left by ship from Turkey to Bulgaria, and the version of the Ukranian man is that they left Odessa, by boat, to Bulgaria," said Burgas District Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson, Shtelian Dimitrov.

The two face up to 6 years in prison for illegally crossing Bulgaria's maritime border. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the route was being explored for migrant smuggling by sea. The Ukrainian has previously been convicted of smuggling in Greece in 2011, while the Turkish citizen has a ban on leaving Turkey.