In its judgment in the case of R.A.A. and Z.M. v. Denmark, the UN Human Rights Committee said that the deportation of two Syrian refugees from Denmark to Bulgaria would violate Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which stipulates that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Sick and beaten

Two Syrian citizens, R. A. A. and Z. M. (man and woman), entered Bulgaria in June 2014. Immediately after their arrival, they were detained by the Bulgarian authorities, who persecuted the man, beating him with fists and truncheons. The woman was pulled by the hair, beaten with batons, and afterwards she was forced to be nude. Everything they possessed was taken away and never given back.

After all this, the two Syrians were sent to a reception center, where the conditions were extremely poor. They often discovered worms and insects in their food, and therefore ate quite rarely. Because of the poor hygiene, the woman developed an infection in the pelvis. Her attempt to get medical advice from the doctor at the center was refused with the excuse that the system would collapse if all refugees received treatment. The man suffered from heart disease. Although he fainted twice in the reception center, he was given only painkillers. Three times the local hospital canceled his scheduled appointments without explanation.

One day, on his way to the reception center, the man was attacked and beaten by four or five strangers. He claimed that the assault was incited by hatred, as he quite often saw walking around the refugee camp groups of people who were being aggressive to foreigners. The Syrian says that he was denied access to the police station and was unable to report the crime.

According to them, the reception center was closed for three days due to the presence of xenophobic groups that attack people seeking for protection. During this period of time, a group of young men, who were in violation of their curfew to return to the center, was attacked. Some of them were stabbed.

Refugee status, but nothing else

In September 2014, the two Syrians received refugee status in Bulgaria, and they were informed that they must leave the reception center. The financial aid of around 60 leva per month was stopped, and there was no integration program to help them to find housing and work, nor any access to health services or education.

As a result, they spent three days on the streets, where among other things, they faced the risk of becoming victims of the great number of xenophobic attacks that remain unpunished in Bulgaria. Their friends, still living in the center, tried to help them, secretly accommodating them in their rooms. They stayed there until December 2014, when they left for Denmark with money, sent from relatives in Syria.

Questioning the Dublin Regulation

In Denmark, they spent the entire following year appealing the decision of the Danish authorities to return them to Bulgaria. Their child was born at the end of 2015, which made them even more vulnerable. Taking into consideration all the facts, the Committee recognized that their deportation back to Bulgaria in compliance with the Dublin Regulation would expose them to the risk of irreparable damage.

The judgment in the case R.A.A. and Z.M. v. Denmark, reached on December 15 and announced last week, questions once again the way the Dublin Regulation works. Before the announcement of this judgment, the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg also reached similar decisions in a few cases. However, a judgment of this type issued from the UN Human Rights Committee is the first against Bulgaria.

You may read the full decision here (in English).