THE THREE SYRIANS ARRESTED AT BULGARIA –TURKEY BORDER ARE HELD IN CUSTODY

Bulgaria’s Specialized Criminal Court ordered three Syrian citizens to be kept in custody. They were arrested for trying to illegally cross Bulgaria-Turkey border and allegedly join Daesh, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior said on 15th of February.

Each was provided with court-appointed lawyer and an interpreter. During the court sitting, they denied the allegations and said they were going to Turkey to visit the mother of one of the three. They asked the court to release them in order to go back to Germany, from where they had refugee status and had permanent addresses.

According to information on the website of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior, the three Syrians were detained near Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint in a special operation led by the Special Prosecutor’s Office on 9th of February. On 6th of February, they crossed the Greek-Bulgarian border, arrived in Sofia and settled in a hotel. A day later, they travelled to Svilengrad, a Bulgarian town close to the borders with Greece and Turkey.

After the three were arrested, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Svilengrad pressed charges against them of attempting to cross the state border illegally and they were detained for 72 hours.

On 12th of February, the District Court in Svilengrad sentenced them to six months of imprisonment, suspended, and a fine of 200 BGN each.

The Interior Ministry said that in the course of the operational activities it was established that the three Syrian citizens were affiliated to Daesh and intended to join the terrorist group.