Robert Weaver was thrown in a cell with six other people, given just one meal of rice a day and had to go to the toilet in a hole in the ground during the two week hell
A British pilot has told how was banged up in a hellhole Bulgarian jail cell for two weeks – after going to the police to report his passport stolen.
Robert Weaver, 38, was thrown in a cell with six other people, was given just one meal of rice a day, and had to go to the toilet in a hole in the ground, after police said they were unable to verify his identity.
He was unable to contact his wife and family for the entire time he was detained, and only managed to get out of the cell after a cellmate managed to smuggle in a phone, which Robert used to contact the British Embassy.
Robert, of Birmingham, said: “My passport was stolen from my hotel room, so I went to report it at the police station across the road.
“The police asked me to verify my identity, I told them that would be a bit difficult with my passport missing, but that I had copies of my identification online.
“They threw me in a cold cell with no toilets or drinking water and the next day I was transferred to an immigration detention centre. I shared a cell with six people and if you wanted to use the toilet, you had to ask the guards to take you to a hole in the ground.
“You were given one meal a day, which was basically just rice, and were only allowed outside for 20 minutes to exercise. I spent two weeks in there, and wasn’t allowed to call my wife or my father to let them know I was OK.
“I almost lost my job, as they couldn’t get hold of me. Eventually the British Embassy found me and got me out, they were so apologetic, and said they had no idea why I was detained.”
Robert travelled to Bansko by himself in October for a three-day trip to look at a property close to the quaint ski resort. He stayed in a “pretty basic” B&B, and just before checking out on the last day, he noticed his passport was missing from the safe in his room.
After complaining to the B&B manager, Robert headed over to the police station across the road, to explain the situation to them.
But after giving them a statement, the police asked Robert if he could verify his identity to which he explained that he had copies of his identity online.
He said: I gave them my flight number as well, so that they could verify my identity with the immigration officers at Sofia airport. I also had a property in Bulgaria a few years ago, and was a resident, so it would have been very easy for them to verify my identity.”
However, the officers continued to say that they could not verify Robert’s identity, and put him in a cell, with no toilets and no drinking water.
At this point, Robert asked for a solicitor and claims that the police denied him one, stating that they didn’t have any available.
A few hours later, Robert said a police officer told him that the next day he would be taken to the British Embassy and that he would have to remain in the cell until then.
But the next day, when Robert was being driven to the embassy, police told him they would be taking a “small detour” to Belveograd, a small town near Sofia, where the county police headquarters are.
Robert said officers told him that the detour was only so they could change to a different vehicle, and when they got to the station, his fingers prints were taken.
He added: “They identified me and said ‘we can see that you’re not a criminal, you’re not wanted’.”
Robert claims police then “threw” him in a police car and drove him to Busmantsi detention centre, a facility which is used to detain non-Bulgarian nationals under immigration law.
He was told that he would have to stay the night in the facility, before the embassy could fit him in, and was then asked to sign a number of forms, which were in Bulgarian.
He added: “I said I wouldn’t sign as I couldn’t understand the forms and I didn’t have a solicitor present, and the head of migration said to me ‘if you don’t sign here, we’re going to leave you to rot’.”
Robert claims he was then thrown in a cell with six other people, that had no towels or basic toiletries. Eventually he was able to borrow a phone one of his cellmates had smuggled in and used it to contact the Embassy who sent Sofia police to come and get him.
The embassy then issued Robert with emergency travel documents and three days later, he was on his way home to his family.
He added: “Sofia police were actually really, really helpful, and they said they were so sorry and embarrassed and that they had no idea why I’d been detained. My family were so relieved, my dad sounded so choked up on the phone when I told him I was safe.”
Robert is currently in the process of launching a civil case against the Bulgarian government for illegal detainment.
A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Sofia said: “We supported a British man who was detained in Bulgaria and were in touch with the local authorities.”
Bansko police have been contacted for comment.
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