Saudi activist faces imminent deportation from Bulgaria
A Saudi Arabian human rights defender and journalist is facing imminent deportation from Bulgaria, even though his asylum claim is yet to be processed.
Abdulrahman al-Khalidi has been detained by the Bulgarian authorities for over three and half years, despite two court rulings ordering his release, first on 17 January and then again on 26 March.
Khalidi, who has advocated for democratic reforms in Saudi Arabia, including as part of the "bee army" of online Saudi activists with the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is at risk of immediate arrest and torture if returned, his lawyers previously told Middle East Eye.
Khalidi has received a slew of online threats and harassment, including from high-profile, government-linked personalities, calling him a traitor and urging his swift deportation.
On 28 March, Khalidi was transferred to the migration section of the Busmantsi Detention Centre where detainees are held prior to deportation.
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According to a press release issued by Khalidi, he was read the order for his transfer by two plain-clothes representatives of the Migration Directorate.
“They began speaking to me in Bulgarian without me understanding what was happening and without any prior warning. I had no idea what was going on. I assumed they were taking me to be released, as the court had ruled in my favour,” Khalidi said in a statement.
The officials refused to provide Khalidi with a written copy of the order, instead reading it to him in Bulgarian, with an interpreter translating over the phone.
“The situation was so tense and confusing that I could not fully comprehend what was being said or what was required of me. I was not given the opportunity to review a written order in my own language,” he said.
When Khalidi reached for his phone to contact his lawyer, he reported that the officials “physically restrained” him and seized his phone. He said he was then “coerced” into signing the order and told he would not receive a written version if he did not comply.
Khalidi has still not seen a written version of the order in Arabic.
“This is not only a violation of my rights, but a clear tactic to prevent me from understanding the legal basis for my continued detention,” he said.
‘Blatant defiance of the rule of law’
Khalidi has remained in detention in Bulgaria since he crossed the border on foot in October 2021.
His asylum claim was rejected by a Bulgarian court in 2021.
Authorities said that Saudi Arabia had taken measures to democratise society and did not consider him to be at risk, his lawyers said.
He has been appealing the decision ever since. In September 2023, Bulgaria's Supreme Court found his case had been marred by procedural errors and ordered a retrial in a lower court.
Two months later, the lower court sent his case back to the State Refugee Agency for reconsideration.
On 18 January, an administrative court in Sofia ordered his release, which was then rejected on 22 January by the National State Security Agency.
On 26 March, the Administrative Court of Sofia issued a final order for his immediate release.
In a statement, the campaign group Migrant Solidarity Bulgaria highlighted that Khalidi’s continued detention and imminent deportation violates Bulgarian and international refugee law as his asylum claim is still pending.
The Bulgarian authorities are claiming that Khalidi’s continued detention is permissible on national security grounds, as Bulgarian refugee law states that “restrictions in the use of coercive administrative measures… do not apply if there are grounds to believe that an asylum seeker poses a threat to national security”.
However Migrant Solidarity Bulgaria pointed out that this loophole can only be applied once a final asylum decision has been made.
“This blatant defiance of the rule of law by Bulgarian authorities sets a dangerous precedent for all asylum seekers in the country,” the group said.
middleeasteye.net