Migrant Hunters : Concern grows over Bulgarian paramilitaries and ‘border patrols’

An opposition MP has raised questions in Bulgaria’s Parliament after it emerged that anti-Islamic foreign politicians came to the country to visit self-appointed civilians who patrol the border with Turkey looking for refugees and migrants.

Reports in the Bulgarian-language media on July 7 said that hundreds of Bulgarians had involved themselves in paramilitary patrols along the border.

There also appears to be an overlap between the paramilitary patrols of the border and some of the organisations that turned out in Bulgaria last week to welcome Russia’s pro-Putin “Night Wolves” motorcycle group, that resulted in confrontations and arrests in Bourgas and Sofia.

• The paramilitary border patrols were in the headlines months ago when a group including Petar “The Feathers” Nizamov illegally detained a group of refugees. Nizamov is under house arrest pending trial.

• The patrols returned to the headlines in recent days when emerged that former Pegida leader Tatjana Festerling, now the leader of a group calling itself Fortress Europe, and fellow Fortress Europe member Edwin Wagenfeld, had been in Bulgaria to join a patrol at the Turkish border.

In a Facebook post illustrated with photographs, Festerling – who was expelled from Pegida, reportedly for being too extremist for the anti-migrant German group – described meeting Nizamov and called him a “true freedom fighter”, adding that it had been an “honour” to meet him....
 [sofiaglobe.com]
7/7/16
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Related:

• Boiko Borissov: Bulgaria can protect its borders – even without Nato

• More than half of Bulgarians back "migrant hunters" , so-called “citizens’ patrols”  

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• Refugees via Turkey are avoiding route through Bulgaria (Interior Minister) 

• Bulgarian military assists Border Police at Kulata checkpoint