site.btaCourt Leaves in Custody 15 Men Detained During Unrest in Harmanli Refugee Centre

Court Leaves in Custody 15 Men Detained During Unrest in Harmanli Refugee Centre

Haskovo, Southern Bulgaria, December 6 (BTA) - The district court in Haskovo on Tuesday left in custody 15 of the 18 migrants charged with hooliganism and resistance to law enforcers during an unrest at the refugee centre in Harmanli on November 24.

On November 28, a first instance court left all 18 men in custody. On Tuesday was the second hearing after the appeal. Two of the three underaged men who are released will stay in the refugee centre under the supervision of a child services inspector. The third was released on no conditions and was returned to the centre after the trial.
The court's decision is unappealable and all 14 Afghan nationals and one Iranian will be left in custody until the court proceedings. If guilty they are faced with five years' imprisonment. In the meantime the prosecution may press new charges against them for damaging state property and battery during the unrest, said Harmanli Regional Prosecutor Margarit Stoilov.