Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 9th of September 2022
Case name: 2022_09_09-Eastern Med - 996 Situation:
 One young man pushed back from Bulgaria to Turkey
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident
: Eastern Med - Landborder Turkey-Bulgaria

Summary of the Case::
On the 9th of September 2022 at 13:15 CEST, our shift team made contact with a young man from Syria who reported to be very sick and exhausted. He was in Bulgaria, west of the village Beleveren. He had been in the forest for 2 days already, and had run out of food and water. He was alone and he could not go on.
We advised him to call 166 by himself and a few minutes later he confirmed that he had spoke to the Bulgarian police. They had difficulties in communication at first, but they were able to communicate in Turkish with him. At 13:55 CEST, he told us that the police had confirmed they would come and rescue him within the next 2 hours.
When the police did not arrive 2 hours later, he started slowly moving towards the church in the village of Belevren. At 17:00 CEST he sent a message informing us that he arrived at the church and he found drinking water there.
At 17:14 CEST we called the border police in Bulgaria and informed them about the exhausted person next to the church of Belevren. The officer on duty told us he would inform the responsible unit to go there.
After this we lost contact with the exhausted young man. On the 13th of September we managed to speak with him again. He told us he was back in Turkey. He reported that the police finally came and took him. They beat him up and stole all belongings, including his clothes, shoes etc. He did not want to speak about the details.