Rights group: Bulgaria uses police dogs in migrant pushbacks

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — An international rights group says that Bulgarian authorities are attacking Afghan and other asylum-seekers, using police dogs and other violence to illegally push them back over the border into Turkey. Human Rights Watch said Thursday that the migrants reported being beaten, robbed and stripped. HRW refugee and migrant rights officer Michelle Randhawa said “Bulgarian authorities are brutally and summarily pushing back migrants and asylum seekers across the land border with Turkey.” She said the “European Union should ensure that Bulgaria immediately stops the illegal and dehumanizing pushbacks at its borders and allows asylum seekers access to fair asylum procedures.” The Balkan country of 7 million is located on a major route for migrants to Europe.