Four Romanian citizens have been charged as defendants for illegally assisting migrants to reside and cross into the country in the case of the Vidin District Prosecutor's Office, the Sofia Appellate Prosecutor's Office announced.
Two citizens of Romania – aged 21 and 19, have pleaded guilty to a crime they committed - illegally assisting a foreigner to reside or cross into the country in violation of the law. The two helped Syrian citizens cross into the country in violation of the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria, using a passenger car. This happened on January 15, 2025 on the main road E-79 in the area of the border checkpoint “Danube Bridge 2“ at Vidin – Calafat, the prosecutor's office specified.
One of the transported foreigners did not have a regular document for traveling abroad and was in the country in violation of the conditions of stay and residence. The other three Syrians, with an address registration in the city of Harmanli, did not have permission to enter the border zone of Bulgaria during the protection proceedings, the Appellate Prosecutor's Office informed. The court imposed a one-year prison sentence on each of the defendants with a three-year probationary period and a fine of 1,345 leva.
The investigation continues in another case of the Regional Prosecutor's Office – Vidin for an attempt to illegally assist migrants, committed by a 32-year-old Romanian citizen. He attempted to transfer four citizens of Syria, Bangladesh and Iraq from Bulgaria to Romania. According to the statement of the Appellate Prosecutor's Office - Sofia, this happened on January 15. A preventive measure of "detention in custody" was taken against him at the request of the prosecutor's office.
The Appellate Prosecutor's Office - Sofia reports on another citizen of Romania - 21 years old, who has been brought in as a defendant by a decree of the investigating body. The person is subject to a preventive measure of "detention in custody". He transported 15 people from Iraq, Bangladesh and Syria. One of the migrants was without identity documents. The others, including three minors, had address registrations in different cities - Varna, Sofia, Harmanli. They did not have permission to be in the border area of Bulgaria during the period of the protection proceedings.