Discrimination Against Armenian Tourists Reported in Bulgaria

Civilians are reporting that Bulgarian border guards exhibit rude and discriminatory behavior towards Armenians arriving from Yerevan. This is reported by "Hetq." It is mentioned that Bulgarian border guards force Armenian tourists to wait for hours at the airport, treat them rudely, mock them, and some are even completely denied entry into the country.

One of the citizens subjected to discrimination in Bulgaria is Aram Mnatsakanyan, who shared details in an interview with "Hetq." Aram and his friend obtained a Schengen visa from the Bulgarian embassy in Armenia and left Yerevan for Sofia on August 7. Upon arrival, the Bulgarian border guards did not stamp their passports but took Aram and his friend to a separate area, where they were searched. After waiting for nearly three hours, they were informed that their entry into the country was denied.

They received a slip indicating that the young men could not substantiate the purpose of their visit to Bulgaria. According to Aram, there were no issues with their documents; they had successfully obtained a visa from the Bulgarian embassy in Armenia, had hotel and rental home bookings in Bulgaria, travel insurance, and return tickets.

“After being denied entry, we were taken to a holding area with terrible conditions. There was no electricity, the internet did not work, it was very hot, and there were insects everywhere. The situation was horrendous. They did not give us food, and our only connection to the outside world was through a window where you had to wait for hours for a policeman to pass by to ask him to escort you to a cafeteria where you could buy something to eat,” Aram narrates.

Aram and his friend spent four days in these conditions waiting for the next flight to Yerevan from Sofia. From the entire group, the Bulgarian border guards specifically chose Davit, a woman, and another traveler with two children, informing them that they were denied entry into Bulgaria, insisting that they were lying about their intentions and were not actually going to the sea.

“They said, ‘If you are going to the sea, why did you come to Sofia? Why didn’t you take a charter flight directly to the sea from Yerevan?’ I explained that the ticket from WizzAir was cheaper, and besides, we are not obligated to buy a charter ticket; we want to wander around the capital as well. Attempting to explain was pointless,” Davit recounts.

The border guards conducted a rough search of them, dumping the contents of their bags onto a bench. At dawn, they were taken to a holding cell. Davit established contact with the Armenian embassy in Bulgaria, explaining what had happened. An embassy staff member suggested passing the phone to the policeman to clarify the issue, but no one was in the area. It wasn’t until 11 a.m. that a new staff member arrived and escorted them to buy food.

To avoid spending several more days there, Davit asked his relative to buy a ticket to Yerevan. After showing the new ticket to the police, they received their passports back a few hours later and were escorted to the airport. The couple then flew from Sofia to Istanbul and from there to Yerevan.

This incident follows Davit’s earlier visit to Bulgaria in March. He is convinced that the Bulgarian authorities deliberately exhibit such behavior to deter people from using Bulgaria as a route to other Schengen countries. There are dozens of comments about similar incidents in Bulgarian tourist groups on Facebook,” the news outlet reports.