Bulgaria Does Not Want Armenian Tourists: New Details from "Hetq"

Citizens report that Bulgarian border guards exhibit rude and discriminatory behavior towards Armenians arriving from Yerevan. The border guards force Armenian tourists to wait for hours at the airport, treat them rudely, mock them, and some are completely denied entry into the country. Entry into Bulgaria is prohibited due to discrimination at Sofia airport.

One of the citizens who faced discriminatory treatment in Bulgaria is Aram Mnatsakanyan, who shared details in an interview with "Hetq". Aram and his friend received a Schengen visa from the Bulgarian embassy in Armenia and traveled to Sofia on August 7. At the Bulgarian border, their passports were not stamped; instead, they were taken to a separate area where they were searched and informed three hours later that their entry was denied. They were given a denial slip stating that they could not justify the purpose of their visit to Bulgaria.

According to Aram, there was no issue with their documents; they had obtained the visa without problems and had bookings for both a hotel and a rental home in Bulgaria, along with medical insurance and return tickets. "After being denied entry, we were taken to a prison-like place where conditions were terrible. There was no electricity, the internet did not work, it was very hot, and there were insects everywhere. It was a horrible situation. They didn’t provide us with food, and the only connection to the outside world was a window where you had to wait for hours for a police officer to pass so you could ask him to escort you to a café where you could buy some food," Aram recounted. He and his friend spent four days in these conditions waiting for the next flight from Sofia to Yerevan.

David Baghdasaryan and his wife found themselves in a similar situation. They left Yerevan for Sofia on June 9, planning to stay a few days before heading to the beach for a vacation. At the airport, border guards singled out about 60 people and began to question and intimidate them. None of them were citizens of other countries; all were Armenian citizens. "There was also a dance group on our flight, and they started mocking them, saying, ‘Well, dance for us to prove you are indeed a dance group!’ They asked the director if he was the DJ. Many were intimidated and forced to sign a document stating that they would not travel to another Schengen country from Bulgaria," David reported to "Hetq." From the entire group, the Bulgarian border guards chose David, his wife, and another traveler with two children and informed them that they were denied entry into Bulgaria, insisting that they were lying and that they did not intend to go to the beach.

"They said, ‘If you’re going to the beach, why did you come to Sofia? Why didn’t you take a charter flight directly to the beach from Yerevan?’ I explained that tickets with WizzAir were cheaper, and besides, we are not obligated to buy a charter ticket; we also want to explore the capital. Explaining anything was pointless," David recounted.

The border guards rudely searched them, completely emptying their bags on the bench. At dawn, they were taken to a detention area. David managed to contact the Armenian Embassy in Bulgaria from the detention area and explained what had happened. An embassy employee suggested passing the phone to a police officer to clarify the matter, but there were no people in the area. A new employee arrived at 11 AM and escorted them to a store to buy food. To avoid spending several days there, David asked a relative to buy him a ticket to Yerevan. After showing the new ticket to the police, their passports were returned a few hours later, and they were escorted to the airport. The couple flew from Sofia to Istanbul and then to Yerevan.

Before this incident, David had visited Bulgaria in March. He is convinced that the Bulgarian authorities are intentionally displaying such treatment to prevent 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. Details can be found at the source.