Three arrested for attack on refugees in Sofia
A third suspect was arrested on December 3 in connection with the serious assault and robbery two days earlier of three refugees in Sofia, Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said.
The three victims, two from Syria and one from Lebanon, were attacked at a fast food outlet in Slivnitsa Boulevard in the Bulgarian capital city on the night of December 1.
Two were seriously injured, in the latest incident involving attacks on migrants in Bulgaria.
The December 1 incident involved an attack on the three migrants, ranging in age from 26 to 38, by a group of men reported to have been armed with clubs and knives.
The attack has led to repeated calls by human rights groups for Bulgaria’s current authorities to act effectively against xenophobia and hate crime. The Interior Ministry has been criticised for treating the incident as a robbery rather than a xenophobic attack.
The ministry said that those in custody for the attack were a 15-year-old “known to the police for vandalism”, an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old, who had a previous record for theft.
Police said that investigations were continuing and further suspects were being sought.
(Photo: foxumon/sxc.hu)
